I'm Not a Monster Anymore
by Impersonating-an-entity
Summary: After meeting Naruto Gaara has a lot to think about and his life to examine. He decides to replace his old philosophy with Naruto's and moves to Konoha with his siblings to escape the persecution in Suna.
1. To Konoha! A Rescue Mission!

Obviously this isn't mine or it wouldn't be on If I introduce any OCs, I'll put it in the pertinent chapter. Otherwise, charries belong to Masashi Kishimoto and co, plot (or lack thereof) is mine, setting is a collaboration.

Those of you reading the story will notice that, wow, I went from one long ass shapter to six so-so chapters. Yes, I cut the original down into chapters since I got enough reviews to warrant posting it and it's awkward to just replace the chapter with larger and larger chunks of test, so... Anyhow, a lot of it is the same as before, but there are sections I would re-read because I've added to them, specifically chap. 2 'The Konoha-nin saved! Back to Heal!', I think. After thatthe new stuff should start on chap. 5 'A New start: Friends and Family'so go for it. Also, The chapter names are supposed to be reminiscent of the episode titles in the series. Like? ) ((Stupid banning my smileys! I have to use the chat ones now! XP))

Also, there are some scenes from the anime where I put the first line or two of dialogue but, for my purposes, the whole scene was not necessary. However, I may go back and get the full dialogue from the scenes in question so those who aren't as far along as I am will not be left out of the loop.

Anyhow, whether you like it or not, please review. Things to note in a review, or things I'd like to see:

1. If there are any errors in grammar, spelling, or my japanese fragments, tell me what and where-ish in the document. in particular, is it chuunin or chunnin? I forget!

2. Any indescrepincies in the character - any noticeable changes, especially if it looks like something that might have been an accident.

3. Any thing or scene you just don't like so I might come up with a different way to handle the issue better next time.

4. Any thing or scene you do like so I can beam with pride.

5. Because is horrible, it messed up my breaks and formatting, so if there's a spot where it seems to divide into a new scene, tell me where-ish and the scenes involved. I think I got all the breaks in but I may be missing some yet...

6. Anything else you notice or would like to comment on.

7. If you want to flame, please do, as I think it is hilarious. I laugh and laugh and laugh.

All right, as far as spoilers this is accurate (though fairly vague) up until Orochimaru captures a certain character (the character is revealed if you read though). From there, it takes a turn from the series, though where I can tie it in, I have.

Warnings include colorful language (mostly on kankurou's part), said spoilers, Gaara's psychoticness and that's it for now but if more comes then I have plans for some shounen-ai and later yaoi, so if you're not interested you may want to avoid this rather than getting caught up.

Sorry for all the notes, guys! >.> Normally I hate to do that, but...

* * *

"That kid must have really walloped Gaara somethin' good, huh, Temari," Kankurou stated more than asked. The Suna no genin had returned to their village a short while ago and the two were playing Go. Gaara was being treated (or rather, doctors were forced to attempt to approach the suna no bakemono and treat him) at a local hospital, though the two didn't expect him to be there long. Still, it meant a welcome reprieve of the crazy little shit's presence, and they enjoyed the temporary peace.

Temari nodded, laying down a piece and smirking faintly as she removed several of Kankurou's in a long awaited move. "Yes. Still... He apologized to us... That's... What do you suppose made him do that?" she asked as Kankurou frowned, having completely missed Temari's strategy until it was too late. He planned well enough in combat or for missions, but in day-to-day life he simply didn't think in such terms. It was too frustrating to do so if it wasn't necessary.

Kankurou shrugged, scratching his head as he tried to think of what to do next. "'Dunno. I kind of think that that little Konoha genin knocked some sense into him. At least, temporarily," he said with another gracious shrug, laying down his piece casually and taking one of Temari's. It was nothing to the trick she'd pulled, but it was something. Kankurou never won anyhow. He just lost less than the last time. Or tried to.

"Speaking of, which of those two do you think actually beat him? Remember, there was that loud kid and that one, Uchiha Sasuke," Temari pondered. She guessed Uchiha, since he seemed stronger, and Gaara had been interested in him, but there had also been signs that the Uchiha might have only got there a few minutes before. But that the blond kid had done it... that seemed illogical.

"Uzumaki Naruto..." a cool voice said. Temari and Kankurou looked up in shock as the paper door slid away smoothly, revealing Gaara carefully carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups. "The blond one," he clarified, walking over with his usual quiet steps. "I made tea," he stated unnecessarily, offering the tray to Temari.

Temari forced a weak grin in place of the surprise and even touch of fear she'd shown at first realizing Gaara had stumbled in on them talking about him. He didn't usually like people talking about him... he'd killed people just for looking at him wrong on a few unforgettable occasions... Only two or three times since he'd gotten a semblance of control over his powers, but it had happened before... "Arigatou, Gaara-san," she said, taking the tray gingerly. She set it down on the small table the Go mat rested on as Gaara fetched a spare cushion like those Temari and Kankurou sat on from the corner of the small, mostly plain room.

As Gaara sat down gracefully, with a sort of gratefulness at being no longer encumbered by that awkward gourd, Kankurou tried to find a discreet way to shift away from his younger brother. "I thought we could drink together," Gaara said, glancing at the two to ascertain their thoughts. Kankurou and Temari shared a wondering glance and then Temari pasted another awkward smile on and carefully poured tea into the three cups.

"Of course, Gaara," she said, passing him a cup and then another to Kankurou before taking her own. The three drank almost in unison and Gaara and Kankurou winced, as Temari tried to politely hide her displeasure at the bitter tea. Gaara was not one for domestic tasks, but he'd assumed it would be easy enough to boil water and put tea bags into it. What had he done wrong?

Gaara set the cup down, looking faintly frustrated. "This isn't right." Kankurou set his down with a sigh of relief that was a little more audible than necessary, glad he didn't have to choke down the willow bark tea used for curing headaches to appease his insane younger brother.

"Don't worry," Temari said, as her smile seemed to become more genuine (though whether it was was anyone's guess) and she gathered the cups back on the tray. "I'll put this away for later, and bring something else. Just a moment," she said, standing and carrying the tray off. Kankurou glanced at his brother, who appeared intent on the game on the table, wondering what exactly was going on in the chibi bakemono's head. For several moment's, they sat in silence broken only by Kankurou's occasional uncomfortable fidgeting. He did not like being left alone with Gaara.

"You have the black pieces, right?"

"Huh?" Kankurou asked, startled. He'd been lost in thought, a rather rare occurrence for him. Still, this seemed like the proper occasion, since there was quite a lot to think about.

"You play black, don't you, Kankurou?" Gaara asked again, sounding oddly patient. That is, most people found he spoke tonelessly, but his siblings and the few other people who'd survived being in his presence frequently had been able to pick up on the slight changes that would signal his mood. Usually, if Gaara had to repeat something, he would sound frustrated. But not this time...

"Uh, yeah. Yes, I play black..." he said, taking a moment to remember what he'd been doing before and then wondering what Gaara was getting at. Gaara tapped a square, and Kankurou squinted at it.

"Play here next," Gaara said. Kankurou squinted harder as though it would improve his concentration, then relaxed and grinned as he saw what was going on. He nodded, crossing his arms. Apparently, Temari had set herself up for a fall and counted on Kankurou not to notice. In a few moves, Kankurou would recoup his losses easily. He was still confused by Gaara's behavior, but for the moment, it seemed to be working for him, so whatever. Maybe that loud Konoha genin had knocked some sense into his little brother after all.

Soft footfalls could be heard and a moment later Temari entered the room with a tray bearing two teapots (one about half the size of the first) and clean cups. "Here," she said, placing it on the table before sitting down cross-legged. "I made orange tea for me and Kankurou, but there's green tea for you, Gaara, since you don't like sweets..." she explained, pouring out the fresh, piping hot tea.

"Arigatou," her brothers echoed as she passed out the new cups. The sweet, spicy orange tea, and even the plainer green tea Gaara favored, was a decided improvement. Kankurou couldn't help but grin as he inhaled the delicious scent. Temari wasn't exactly a master of the kitchen either, but she was really good at a few meals, and she made a mean cup of tea.

With that, Temari took her turn as Gaara watched in silence, and, after a while, Temari and Kankurou relaxed to the point that they could almost forget Gaara was even there. Still, some decade of fear of him meant that they could not drop their guard altogether. Thus, the game continued in silence.

* * *

"Kazekage is dead," Baki stated without preamble. He'd found the three as Temari and Kankurou were preparing for a second game to tell them. The two older siblings' eyes widened in shock, and then Kankurou clenched his fist angrily.

"How?" he demanded.

"Orochimaru-sama."

"I knew we couldn't trust that snake!" Kankurou growled.

Temari and Gaara were silent. Unlike Kankurou, who was apparently outraged at his father's death, Temari wasn't sure what to think. Actually, she was surprised at Kankurou's vehement reaction. The Kazekage had never been close to any of them, more interested in Gaara's abilities than anything else, without actually caring about Gaara... As far as Temari was aware, since they had been old enough to learn about the shinobi way of life, he had considered them as tools like the other shinobi, with the same limited affection he felt for the others. He had not been a better leader than father, causing war after war costing the suna village a heavy toll. And the creation of Gaara...

Gaara stared at his hands in his lap and tried not to smile. That was a monstrous thing to do, never mind the fact that he had all the reason in the world to hate the man and dance on his grave. Still, he hadn't been looking forward to finding a way to talk to (let alone appreciate) his father. It was easier this way, almost. He was willing to try to get to know his brother and sister better, and have a real family. To be saved from the hell of loneliness, he'd try it. But his father... It was better he was dead.

"There'll be a proper ceremony for him in a few days. You two will be expected to speak," Baki said. He didn't need to clarify which to - it was obvious they could not allow Gaara to speak. Not about that. "There are others I must alert," Baki finished, leaving the three to their own devices again.

After a few moments Gaara broke the silence. "The tea is getting cold. I'll go reheat it."

* * *

Temari sighed, wiping at her eyes. At least it was over now. It had taken three days for all the preparations to be made for the Kazekage's funeral, and along with that was the added pressure and stress of negotiations to avoid war with Konoha. But the funeral had taken place, she'd said her bit and the peace delegation had left some time ago to meet with Konoha representatives. For better or worse, it was out of her hands.

The funeral had been harder than she'd expected. Trying to come up with something good to say about her asshole father had been difficult. Actually saying it had been harder, but she'd managed to choke out some tears by thinking of the people who had died - the Konoha shinobi and civilians, Suna people lost in her father's wars, including her former best friend Katari, and those Gaara had killed. It was all her father's part - after all, she could hardly blame Gaara for having been driven insane by the Shukaku their father had sealed within him, though she could fear him for it.

For his part, Gaara had remained silent and had generally stayed a pace back and right of Temari, like a strange, dangerous shadow. He had stayed near her and Kankurou for the past three days without threats of any kind, and as far as she was aware, he had not killed anyone. That was odd, though somewhat comforting. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if he was just getting better at hiding the signs. _Just what the hell happened to him in Konoha, anyhow?_ she wondered. Even in just three days, it was clear something was changing about Gaara.

* * *

_Important people, huh? I want to try. Family is supposed to mean important people...Can Temari and Kankurou be important people to me? Can I be an important person to them?_ It was another late night on a rooftop, watching the three-quarters full waning moon. These times were given to thinking, and since the fight with Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara had many new things to think about. He hadn't been sure what to do, still wasn't. But he knew he didn't want to be a monster anymore. He didn't want to be lonely, and Naruto had said he could escape loneliness. Actually, Naruto had said he'd escaped loneliness, but surely Gaara could do it too, now that he knew there was a way.

He'd thought loneliness had made him strong because he'd never been defeated; he'd assumed none of his opponents had been lonely enough. But Naruto had gained power from his important people, had been ready to give anything for those people. He had tasted that Hell and escaped with more power. Gaara wanted to do that. Naruto had a monster in him, but had not let it devour him. Gaara wanted to find a way to keep his tanuki from devouring him.

So, the first step was important people. Gaara had known no where else to start, so he'd decided on Temari and Kankurou. They'd survived around him longest, and he knew that he was supposed to think of them as family, and that most people considered family important people. Still, it was hard. It was difficult, rewriting everything he'd thought he'd known about life and love. As much as he wanted to escape the life he led, he couldn't just throw away the memories - perhaps there was even a part of him that was afraid. After all, what if these new theories failed him? It was easier to stick with the old and wonder than to try and find it hopeless.

Temari and Kankurou weren't exactly receptive either. They'd feared him too long -they tolerated him staying near because they were afraid to argue, but Gaara was very sure that they were merely tolerating him. _But what am I supposed to do? How do I make them think of me as an important person? How do I make myself think of them as important people?_ He winced and his hand shot to his forehead. He tried to hold back a groan as the headache hit full force, complete with Shukaku's revival of old, best-forgotten memories.

Or was it Shukaku? He wasn't sure any more how much of what he did was his own insanity and how much Shukaku's prompting. It was another reason he wanted to change - to have important people, and leave loneliness and being the bakemono no suna behind. He did not want to fulfill his mother's dying wish for him - to be a devil who loved only himself. "I was not raised in a good environment..." he muttered. He would overcome that. His Kaa-san was the sand, his Dou-san was the scorching sun and his family was Temari and Kankurou and the desert. At least he knew he could trust the desert, sand and sun. He was trying.

* * *

"Temari-chan!" Kankurou bellowed, rushing through the halls of the house that now belonged to the three of them. At least their father had left them that, as well as a fair amount of wealth, though not enough to allow them to stop being shinobi, as though that option was open or even considered. "Temari!"

"Oi, Kankurou, what's the ruckus over?" Temari said, sliding her door open irritably. She'd been reading and had been quite immersed. If Kankurou didn't have good news then he would be risking his life.

"The alliance with Konoha has been sealed-" Kankurou began to explain, when Temari cut him off.

"Really? That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, glomping him enthusiastically and beaming like the sun. An alliance meant one less enemy, one less possible war.

"Yeah, now get off me!" Kankurou half growled, pushing his sister away. "At any rate, there's a condition. They need suna no shinobi to help them because they don't have enough people to handle all the missions they get while rebuilding too. They've had to send out a team of genin lead by a chuunin who was just picked from the exam we took on an A-class mission. But since Suna's having trouble too, _we_ have to go help Konoha-nin." Kankurou explained gruffly, not appearing very pleased with the idea of helping the Konoha-nin.

"We're going to Konoha again?" asked a familiar cool voice. Gaara had been reading with Temari, but had not come to the door at Kankurou's summons. Kankurou had not realized Gaara had been in Temari's room as well and jolted a touch in surprise.

"Hai," Kankurou said simply.

Gaara appeared to be lost in thought for a moment. "Good," he said, and Kankurou could've sworn he saw something resembling happiness in his little brother's eerie eyes. "When?"

"As soon as we're ready," Kankurou replied, remembering the leader of the delegates' words. _You need to be there yesterday!_ That screechy woman had made him practically jump out of his own skin. He supposed that the council in charge until a new kazekage was found had decided that Konoha would agree to anything to get rid of that shrill old hag.

"Let's go," Gaara said, standing up and detouring briefly to his room to fetch the gourd he carried when they wouldn't be in the desert. Kankurou shrugged. He supposed it was as simple as that. As Temari grabbed her fan and tossed on some armor, he fetched his puppets. He couldn't wait to try out Kuroari! He grinned - maybe this little mission to Konoha wouldn't be hell.

* * *

"Oi, Gaara? Just what happened after the third Chuunin Exam? When you fought that Uzumaki kid?" Temari asked as the three raced through the desert to Konoha. It was a cautious question, but Gaara seemed less homicidal lately, so she took the chance.

Gaara glanced at his sister, considering how best to answer that question. "I thought I was powerful - I thought fighting for myself made me strong. But... He won. Barely, but he did. He didn't fight for himself; he fought for his important people. I thought they made him weak, but they didn't..." He shook his head. That wouldn't make sense to them; it only barely made sense to him, and that was probably only because he was just insane enough to understand. "He's like me. He has a monster sealed within him... He was alone too... He knew me." Did that make any more sense? Gaara wasn't sure, though by the confused glance Temari gave him, he guessed it didn't. _He knew me..._ Maybe you had to be insane to understand it... Maybe you just had to know loneliness. Was Naruto insane? He didn't think so. But he'd understood. Maybe you just had to know loneliness to understand...

"He had a monster too? A demon like Shukaku?" Temari asked, confused. How could there be two of them? Two young boys damned like that? Had Naruto been a pawn like Gaara? And if so, how come he wasn't mad like Gaara?

"That's what he told me," Gaara replied, wondering what kind of demon Naruto had and, like his sister, wondering how Naruto was still sane. There was something to be said for Naruto's important people. That was all he could think. The three continued on til they reached the borders of fire country, when they stopped in some of the forest land by a stream for a break. If they rushed to help the Konoha-nin to the point of exhaustion, they'd be useless. Gaara, more than anything at that moment, wanted to be of aid to the Konoha-nin.


	2. The KonohaNin Saved! Back to Heal!

The Suna genin entered the gates of Konoha and began heading quickly for the Hokage's headquarters, planning to get as many details as they could on the mission. All they knew was that they were to help a bunch of genin and a rookie chuunin in an A-class mission.

"OH! It's you three!" a shrill voice called. At first the Suna-nin ignored it, assuming it was someone referring to another group, when a rookie with short pink hair and a quiver Jell-o would envy jumped in front of them, kunais at hand. "What are you doing here again!" Sakura shrieked, looking incredibly shaken and as though she'd been crying recently.

"Oi, you're that rookie with the loud-mouth and that show-off, Uchiha!" Kankurou stated, folding his arms impatiently. "Get out of the way; we're in a hurry!" Sakura only grew more defensive, scowling at him and sniffling. She looked ready to cry again, despite the scowl and the tough posture.

Temari sighed. "Look, we're here to help this time. We need to see Hokage, can you help us find him? Quickly?" she growled, looking impatient. Sakura didn't look ready to trust them. Temari groaned, "Look, kid, if we meant harm again, we would have attacked you, instead of standing here, talking like rational people, which is actually irrational, because we're in a hurry! Didn't you hear Konoha and Suna are allied again!"

"The Godaime is a woman..." Sakura grumbled, seeing the logic in the other's words. There was a chance that the Suna-genin was trying to trick her into taking her to the Hokage, but even if that was the case, not even these three stood a chance against Hokage-sama. She turned, still keeping more awareness at the danger at her back and her kunais at hand, and began leading them towards the tower again. They obviously knew to go there, but navigating the halls to find Tsunade would difficult, though Sakura had the luck to know that the Hokage was busy at work in conferences there, rather than roaming the city.

"Whatever, little leaf-nin," Temari said as the Suna-nin followed at a careful distance that would allow their guide a little comfort.

It did not take long to locate Tsunade, who seemed pleased to see the three, to Sakura's surprise. As Sakura listened, Tsunade filled in the Suna-nin and gave Sakura orders to lead them back out the gate to pick up the others' trail. As they were about to leave, she called them back for one more moment. "I was not here for the Chuunin exams, but I have been told what happened. And by the descriptions I was given... Would you three be the team that arrived for the Exam and caused so much trouble?" she asked.

She appeared only curious, but Temari and Kankurou couldn't help but be a little embarrassed. As Temari was about to answer, Gaara stepped forward. "We were. Most of the damage was my doing. Gomen, Hokage-sama," he said, bowing very slightly.

Tsunade shook her head, resting her hands on her hips. "How ironic. Well, get going, we don't have time to lose!" she said, making shooing motions with her hands. "Scat!"

* * *

"Another one!" Temari asked, dropping down next to Neji's unconscious form. When they'd come across Chouji they'd been undecided on whether to split up and have someone take him back to the village, but he was more dead than alive, and they needed to move on to help the others reclaim Sasuke. Temari checked Neji's vital signs - he was no better than Chouji. If possible, Temari suspected he was worse. The two weren't even worth wasting Chakra on to try to stabilize their condition - to do so would take much more chakra then even the suna three could come up with. She pulled away shaking her head. "We'll have to leave him, too."

Gaara lingered a moment after the other two. He didn't want to kill anymore, but perhaps a mercy killing was in order. "Ah!" he cried out as a headache hit and ran to catch up. The Konoha-nin did not appear to be in pain anymore, and Gaara did not want to kill if he could help it, for fear he'd be unable to stop again. "Naruto!" he murmured, knowing that the other was on this mission. If he could help, he wouldn't just be aiding Konoha, but Naruto, too. He would help Naruto if it killed him.

* * *

Kiba sighed relief. Thank Kami-sama; he wasn't dead yet. The puppet freak had showed up, and his buddy the sand freak wasn't here. "Be careful! These guys aren't pushovers!"

* * *

"How troublesome. Saved by a woman," Shikamaru groaned, though he couldn't help being grateful in his heart. He was all out of strategies.

"There you go babbling about your man and woman nonsense. Baka!" Temari said nonchalantly, studying the situation.

* * *

"Sa-Sabaku no Gaara..."

* * *

"Can you walk?" Kankurou asked Kiba, eyeing him rather distastefully.

Kiba pushed himself onto his feet. "Yeah," he muttered, bending over to pick up Akamaru. However, the action threw off his already precarious balance and he tumbled down with a painful thunk. "Ouch!" he yelped, wincing.

Kankurou rolled his eyes. "Wait here – I saw a river near by, I'm going to go wash the blood off of Kuroari and Karasu…" Kiba was about to ask who Kankurou was talking about when he saw the puppeteer gather his puppets. He nodded quietly and began doing what he could for Akamaru.

"If you need my help, tug on this," Kankurou said, tossing a kunai to the ground at Kiba's feet – a string of chakra ran from the handle to Kankurou's left index finger. Kiba eyed it a moment as Kankurou walked away and gave it a curious tug. He heard Kankurou sigh some short distance away. "What?" the suna-nin called back, sounding distinctly aggravated.

"So it really works…" Kiba said, grinning a little. That was a nifty trick.

"Of course it really works!" Kankurou yelled, sounding **very** angry now. Kiba heard his footsteps resume and some mutterings that he imagined was curses. He turned back to Akamaru and dug some pills out of his pouch and gave a few to Akamaru – painkillers (not like he needed them at the moment), things to stimulate healing, blood clotting, et cetera. He tore fabric from his jacket (the bandages he carried were soaked, but his jacket, luckily, wasn't) and began splinting broken bones where he could.

Kankurou scrubbed angrily at his puppets. Fighting was fun, the battle was fun, but now that it was over it was just the mundane part of the mission – he was back to babysitting. Well, gee, that was a change from the norm – not. And now it was some pathetic little leaf-nin… Well, at least he didn't have to worry about death threats from this kid. That would be a welcome change.

He looked over his puppets – well, it wasn't perfect, but for now they were clean enough. When they got back to Suna he'd give them a thorough cleaning and oil the joints and polish and… he smiled a little. His puppets and Temari were the only comforts he had, really. He could spend days locked up taking care of them and practicing jutsu with them.

He felt a tug at the chakra string at his hand – shit, was that kid in trouble? He grabbed his puppets, glad he'd been finishing anyhow, and ran back to the clearing where he'd left the leaf-nin. Kiba was sitting over his dog and looked absorbed.

"Hey, do you have anything for bruises? Cuts?" Kankurou heard the boy ask quietly.

"You know, I could kill you for that!" Kankurou growled angrily, more relieved than anything else that the kid was okay and that he could actually threaten him for pissing him off, instead of sucking up like he had to around Gaara.

"Do you?" Kiba asked, glancing up at him as he ran a gentle hand over Akamaru's back.

Kankurou sighed, "Just a little," he said, digging around in his pouch for it and tossing it to Kiba. "We don't need it much with Gaara around. Well, unless he's the reason we need it… But it's the best stuff available in Suna gakure…" he explained briefly. Kiba took a whiff and wrinkled his nose – it was potent: not bad, but clearly strong. He applied it with painstaking care and tossed the empty container back to Kankurou.

"Can you walk **now**?" Kankurou asked, stashing the little pot quickly.

Kiba sighed and tried to stand again, picking up Akamaru carefully. "Yeah," he said. "I took a soldier pill while you were gone – that should give me enough strength to get back to Konoha."

Kankurou flapped a hand dismissively. "Whatever. Let's go," he said, leading the way at an impatiently fast pace. Kiba tried, but it wasn't long before he found himself lagging behind. "Can't you go any faster?" Kankurou complained, leaning against a tree to wait for Kiba.

Kiba growled at him. "Excuse me for being badly wounded and having an injured dog to carry," he quipped, angrier at his own inability than anything else. He'd fought so hard and then this freak had shown up and KOed those freaky brothers in moments.

Kankurou sighed. "I'll have to carry you then. I want to hurry up and get back." He said. He was too impatient to have to keep waiting for Kiba – not that it mattered how soon he got to Konoha but he wanted to get there and then get where ever else he was going and again after that… "C'mon," Kankurou said, gesturing for Kiba to put his arms over Kankurou's shoulders so he could carry him like he did Gaara.

"No way, I won't be able to support Akamaru properly with one arm!" Kiba said after he realized what Kankurou meant. Kankurou sighed and rolled his eyes. He really wasn't thrilled about this but… "Then I'll carry you bridal style or whatever – but not a word or you're **so** dead."

Kiba snorted. "As if! I don't even want you to carry me, you're the one pushing it!" he retorted. However, he was beginning to feel a little dizzy – it was just as well Kankurou was going to carry him.

"Yeah, well, we need to get you and your mutt back to Konoha for medical attention, and if you keep lagging like that, your damn dog is going to bleed to death!" Kankurou yelled, getting defensive. He had to admit, it was freeing to be able to talk and act like this without worrying about Gaara. A small part of him was even having fun.

He'd struck a nerve – Kiba looked at Akamaru anxiously. He thought Akamaru was stable now, but what if… He couldn't afford to lose Akamaru… "Okay, just make sure you don't jolt him…" Kiba said, uncharacteristically quiet again.

Kankurou's eyes widened – he saw a tear drip from Kiba's face to the dog. His words never affected anyone besides Temari… That was a weird sort of power, and he kind of regretted it, really. After all, this guy was just a kid and his pet was wounded and he'd just made him cry….

He scooped Kiba up carefully. "Oi…" He began running, picking his way carefully so he didn't jolt his burden anymore than necessary. "Gomen nasai."

Kiba shook his head. "Whatever."

Kankurou realized suddenly how infinitely annoying that word could be, and he instantly understood why Temari got so angry with him over it. "What's your name, anyhow, kid?"

"Inuzuka Kiba… you?"

"Kankurou."

Kiba glanced up, a bit surprised. "Family name?" he asked.

"We don't use it," Kankurou said, not without some bitterness.

"Why not?" Kiba asked idly.

"Because… Gaara's insane but he's right about family," Kankurou said.

"So… you're Sabaku no Kankurou then?" Kiba asked, stroking Akamaru's ear.

"No! Just Kankurou!" the suna-nin groaned, tired of explaining and wishing he hadn't brought it up in the first place. "Gaara's the only one to use 'sabaku no' in his name. Temari and I are **just** Temari and Kankurou, okay?"

"Oh. Sure." Kankurou was really miffed, though he couldn't say exactly why. Kiba looked around. "We're almost there – good!" he said, smiling and clearly relieved.

"Yeah, good – this is where you get off," Kankurou said, setting Kiba down with less than perfect care.

"Hey, watch it!" Kiba growled, stumbling a little before catching his balance again.

"Fine, kid," Kankurou remarked nonchalantly, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was just glad not to have to carry him anymore – it was awkward carrying another guy bridal style. 'Specially a kid like the Konoha-nin.

Kiba growled, "The name's Inuzuka, **Kurou-chan.**"

"Hey, I just saved your life, you little punk shit, so don't you pull that shit with me!" Kankurou warned, glaring death at the kid.

Kiba smirked, "What, are you going to kill me for it?"

"No, but I can sure beat the shit out of you for it!" Kankurou yelled, looking like he was ready to kill, although he had a little more restraint than that. A little.

"Watch it, Kurou-chan! It's not fair to fight someone wounded like me, and if you kill my dog I'll carpet my room in your hide!" he said, sneering at Kankurou. Kankurou glared and turned around.

"You can get back to the village from here, I'm going back to find Temari!" Kankurou yelled back. Kiba laughed at him and went into the village, hurrying – he was eager to get Akamaru checked and hear any news there was from the others.

* * *

_Wow_… Shikamaru thought. _Sugoi_… Temari's power was amazing – he was surprised, seeing this, that he'd beat Temari in the chuunin exams. "Domo…" he said, surveying the damage. Temari grinned proudly. It was nice seeing the chauvinist brat who'd defeated her before surveying her work with awe now. "We weren't allowed to show our full power at the chuunin exams – we weren't really there to be chuunin, anyway."

Shikamaru scowled. "Yeah, you came to try and destroy us…" he grumbled.

Temari scowled back. "I told you; it was just an order. I don't want war, and neither do my brothers. Kazekage was the only one who wanted that, and he's dead now, thanks to Orochimaru."

"Oh…" Shikamaru said. "I'm sorry for your loss…" he muttered. It had been hard on Konoha to lose Sandaime. He imagined it would have been much the same in Suna.

"Don't be. He wasn't a good leader. And he was a worse father," she said, almost breezily.

Shikamaru was surprised a moment. "You're Gaara's older sister then?" he confirmed.

Temari nodded, leading the way back. Shikamaru fell in with a natural ease. He didn't feel like leading – mendoukuse. "And Kankurou's the middle child," she added.

"It wasn't hard on you?" he asked. The loss of a parent, even a bad one…

"If you knew him, you'd understand," she'd said. "Please don't ask…" she'd added, sounding tired.

Shikamaru shrugged. "That would be troublesome for us both…" he said. They traveled on in relatively comfortable silence for a while.

Temari brightened. "Look, there's Kankurou!" she said, pointing.

Kankurou waved. "Oi, Temari-chan! Who's that?" he asked, waiting for them, casually propped against a tree.

"Shikamaru. How were things for you?" She asked. "No problem here."

Kankurou snorted. "A joke. It was harder to get that little Konoha-nin back home than the fight." He shrugged.

"Which nin?" Shikamaru asked, suddenly remembering the comrades left behind and realizing the Suna-nin might know something of their fate.

"Inuzuka. Whiny shit, I could have killed him if my purpose hadn't been to help," Kankurou complained. He rolled his eyes.

"And he's okay?" Shikamaru asked, trying not to let on how worried he was.

Kankurou shrugged, falling in step as they caught up with him. "He was hurt pretty bad but he'll be fine. He was more worried about his mutt. I don't know much about animals but the dog **did** look to be in bad condition."

Shikamaru was only slightly reassured. On the bright side, if Kiba'd had enough energy to annoy Kankurou then that was probably a good sign. "What of the other nin? Did you see any others?" Shikamaru asked.

Kankurou and Temari shared a glance and it was all Shikamaru needed. "We encountered two on our way out here – both seemed to be beyond hope so we continued to see if we could be of more use elsewhere," Temari said as gently as she knew how. Sadly, she was not accustomed to being gentle.

"Kankurou-kun, did you see them when you took Kiba back?" Shikamaru asked.

The suna-nin shook his head. "No. I figured the medic-nin found them and took them back or else…" Kankurou had still less tact than Temari, but even he realized that his other suspicion – that their bodies had already been disposed of by hunter-nin – would be better kept to himself. He didn't want to have another hysterical Konoha-nin to take care of. Shikamaru pressed on faster.

* * *

Gaara lowered his head in thought. After a moment of the two sitting in what might have been called companionable silence between a more familiar pair, Gaara stood and offered his hand to Konoha's so-called beautiful green beast. "We should go. You were in no state to fight to begin with," he said calmly, though there was touch of regret that no one but perhaps Temari would ever detect.

Lee smiled weakly, taking the hand and pulling himself up not just a little shakily. "Not my fault. I had to help!" he protested, following as Gaara led the way back to Konoha and the other Suna- and Konoha-nin.

Gaara nodded. He would not have understood before, but now it made sense to him. Something else also occurred to him - something he realized he should do. "Gomen, Rock Lee-san."

"Huh?" Lee asked, confused. What could Gaara be apologizing for - after all, the strange boy had just saved him. If anything, Lee should thank him again! "What for?"

Gaara seemed hesitant - he did not want to detail his faults, but it seemed the leaf-nin was a touch thick. "It is my fault you were in such an unfit state," he explained in a careful tone, realizing how weak he suddenly felt. Perhaps this was wrong, perhaps there was nothing better for him than to be a monster, perhaps what made Naruto strong would only be his undoing. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and the speculation weighed suddenly very heavy in his mind.

To Gaara's surprise, Lee actually laughed. "Don't worry! You could have taken my life then, but you didn't, and now you've saved it! I told you, I'm not holding that fight against you. I'm just glad Tsunade-sama became Hokage. If it wasn't for her, I might not have been able to be a shinobi anymore."

An immense weight that Gaara had not even been conscious of seemed to suddenly lift itself from his heart. "I'm glad, then, that you can still be a shinobi too," he said, and Lee happened to notice his eyes. Though a smile was still beyond Gaara, there was a certain new light in his eyes. Lee realized that it had been the lack of such light that had made Gaara stand out against the Konoha-nin so much before. It was a light they'd taken for granted, the light he'd briefly lost. He wasn't exactly sure what to call the light, but he thought it might be hope.

Lee grinned. _A debt, huh? _"Are the other two with you?"

"They stayed behind to help the other Konoha-nin. We should meet them on the way back, if they aren't already at Konoha again," Gaara explained. He was very glad he had been stopped from killing this strange kid at the hospital.


	3. Gaara's Decision: Leaving Suna Gakure

"Temari?"

"Hai, Gaara-san?" His sister asked, looking up from the magazine she'd been reading. They were in the waiting room in the Konoha hospital, awaiting further instructions while the Hokage worked on Chouji, whom they'd considered hopeless. Still, Tsunade wasn't called Sannin for nothing - perhaps she would yet work some miracle.

"I want to stay in Konoha. Would you and Kankurou be willing to stay with me?" he asked, looking as close to nervous as she'd ever seen. It was the ponderous way he asked it, the way that his stare fell so resolutely just left of her face - usually he either looked at the ground or dead-on, which was haunting in itself. Ad there was that slight, shifting noise - of sand stirring in his gourd quietly.

"Well... We'd have to ask Hokage-sama and the council in Suna, but I don't suppose there's much holding us there anymore anyway..." she said almost thoughtfully. She was surprised to find herself considering the option seriously. It would be nice, though, to live in Konoha's peaceful world, with a steady, comfortable climate instead of days that scorched you to the bone and nights that chilled as deep.

It would be nice to start off anew, without worrying about people avoiding her because of Gaara or blaming her and Kankurou for his mishaps and assuming the two would take charge of Gaara. And Gaara seemed to be infected with Konoha's peace - perhaps staying here would be good for him. If not, they could always leave and go back to the Suna village. If staying here could truly help him, Temari would sacrifice anything for it. It would be nice to no longer fear his insanity and his temper.

"I don't know about Kankurou, but I think I'd be willing to stay with you..." she replied with a shrug. She'd always been the one more concerned of Gaara's well-being: perhaps the only one to see in him the victim, though there was nothing she could do about it before. And though it had only been a few days, Gaara seemed so markedly different already. She was willing to shove her fear away in hope. She'd been trying to hope for so long...

Gaara nodded. "Arigatou. Will you talk to him and the Hokage? As soon as possible?" he asked, with an alien sense of urgency. Temari couldn't help but be surprised again. He was so full of changes lately! She wished she understood better what he'd been talking about, in explaining the fight with Uzumaki Naruto. She nodded with a faint smile.

"Sure, Gaara. I'll go find Kankurou now. Here," she dug through her coin purse and handed Gaara some money. "Go get something to eat!" she told him, feeling slightly worried, wondering if he would take it as an order and grow angry. If so, then that would be the end of the confusion - it would be the old Gaara again.

Gaara took it and pocketed it with a nod. "Hai," he murmured, turning and going to find Lee, hoping the Green Beast's good will would extend to showing him a good place to eat. Temari watched his receding figure with enhanced confusion, then broke into a wide grin. Perhaps it was too soon to be jumping to conclusions like she was, and she was a bit surprised she was so quick to accept the change, but it was such a relief to think her little brother might become a normal person! She began searching for Kankurou, planning on getting him to agree if she had to use force!

* * *

"Lee-san," Gaara said, pushing open the door to the hospital room Lee occupied, sitting comfortably on the bed.

Lee looked up and smiled. "Gaara-san. Worried about little old me?" Lee snickered. "I'll be fine," he said casually, thinking that his concern lay more in the others. He'd seen that Neji had been hurt badly, and one of the rookies: he thought the name was Chouji.

"I was hoping you'd be able to direct me to some place with good food," Gaara said, almost entirely oblivious of the joke, though glad to hear that Lee was all right. He had seemed fine, and Gaara had not been concerned, only barely able to understand what concern was, but he was glad to confirm that Lee was indeed fine.

"Oh, well," Lee scratched his head in thought, "That would depend on what you liked, I guess..." he said. Loud footsteps were heard in the hall, as someone slammed the door open.

"LEE! Thank Kami-sama you're - Wait, what are you doing here? AGAIN! You keep your damn sand away from my Lee!" Gai-sensei yelled, wrapping an arm around Lee protectively upon noticing Gaara. Gaara looked away, appearing properly downtrodden.

Lee groaned and tried to push his way out of Gai's protective grasp. "Sensei! You're - choking me!" he gasped. Gai loosened appropriately, but refused to let go, glaring a thousand painful deaths at Gaara. "He just beat me in the Chuunin Exam! It's nothing to get so worked up about! Besides, he just saved me!" Gaara nodded, wishing the 'busybody' would go away.

"He what? But he tried to kill you before!" Gai complained, looking confused and upset, and really confused!

"It was a fight, we were both doing it!" Lee said, wrestling his way free.

"No, after that, he tried to kill you in the hospital! And now you're saying he saved you?" Gai exclaimed, his attention no longer on Gaara but on Lee (though he still kept some of his awareness on the Suna-nin).

"What?" he asked, looking at Gaara for an answer. So did Gai, crossing his arms and waiting for an explanation. Gaara felt the weight of their eyes on him and groaned as his hands shot to his head. Everyone always stared at him! He was a monster, and they always stared! "Gaa-Gaara! Are you all right?" Lee asked, hopping over to the stricken boy and placing a comforting hand on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara flinched at the contact - he was so unused to being touched ever, certainly not outside of combat.

Gaara looked up and met Lee's concerned eyes. His own widened - he'd never seen anyone look at him like that. They scorned or hated or feared him, but no one looked like that. He recognized the concern as something he'd seen directed at other people and wondered if that was really what he saw in Lee's eyes, or if he was just more insane than he'd thought. But whatever he saw, it was very important he didn't lose it to disgust or hate. "Gomen, Lee-san..." he choked out through the pain of the thoughts and memories that turned his head inside out.

Lee looked shocked, and Gaara couldn't bear to watch him and see the anger he was sure would show up soon. He started backing towards the door, one step at a time, eyes on the floor. Naruto's path was not for him. He was bakemono, hopeless and damned to be alone, separated by his demons and insanity: forever the lonely killer with no greater purpose in his life.

"Why didn't you?" Lee asked, his tone curious and something like grateful, and something like wondrous. As Gai was about to answer, Gaara spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto and a friend of his stopped me. And then your sensei," Gaara answered, wondering why Lee belabored the point: why he cared. Another step back, now it was just a little further and he could bolt. He could be gone in a heartbeat and find somewhere to wait till his head sewed itself back up again.

"Oh..." Lee said simply, apparently turning this over in his mind. Gaara was trembling. His head hurt so bad, the failure of his attempts stung so bitterly. How could Lee forgive this? Surely he would be enraged! Surely he would feel betrayed, perhaps, or suspicious! "Well, you didn't, and like I said, you did save me this time. Actually, you saved me twice against that guy, so I suppose we're even!" Lee said, shrugging and even grinning.

Gaara raised his eyes to Lee's in shock, trembling and sure the Konoha-nin was toying with him. Gai-sensei did not seem to be faring much better. After sputtering incoherently a moment, he gathered his thoughts together and scolded, "Lee! Are you kidding? He could have killed you! And-!"

"He could have, Gai-sensei, but he didn't! He also could have stood by and watched as that bone guy killed me, but he didn't do that either!" Lee yelled, cutting off his sensei with a frown, his hands at his hips. Gaara watched, as one shock led to another: no one had ever defended him before, least of all a stranger, and a stranger he'd wronged and tried to kill, more over! He winced as a new wave of pain raced through his troubled head, and Lee turned to him again. "Come on, let's get you some medicine. What's wrong; do you have a headache?" he asked, putting his arm around Gaara's back and leading him out.

"Sor- Sort of," Gaara groaned, risking a thousand sideways glances at Lee, who continued to look vaguely concerned and confident. And why did Lee keep touching him? He couldn't help but jolt each time Lee did it, though he found that, oddly, he didn't mind. After a moment, Gaara heard Gai-sensei catch up.

"Well, if that's what you think then, Lee... Hold up, I've got some medicine he can take," Gai called, grabbing Lee's shoulder upon catching up and holding him back. The genin turned around and Gai held out a pill and a small flask of water after a minute of digging through pouches on the jacket that marked him as a Konoha no Jounin. Gaara took it gratefully, though wondering at the Jounin's sudden generosity, and shoved the pill in his mouth, following it up quickly with the water, and finally returning the flask empty. "It's not instantaneous like some of the stuff Hokage-sama mixes, but it shouldn't take long, anyhow..." Gai muttered, stowing the empty flask with a glare at it's emptiness.

"Domo, Gai-sensei!" Lee beamed, offering a thumbs-up and one of his patented smiles. "I knew I could count on you!"

Gai beamed as well, mimicking Lee's pose. "Always!" he said, and the two proceeded to giggle like little girls. Gaara watched the procedure with incredulity. On the other hand, if having an important person meant acting like that, he might be better off a monster after all. He discarded that thought immediately. Naruto didn't act like that with his important people, and though Gaara didn't exactly want to act like Naruto either, he assumed that the difference meant there were other options available to him, too.

"So you'd wanted to get something to eat, didn't you, Gaara?" Lee asked mid-laugh, catching Gaara off guard. Confused but beginning to feel better due to the medicine already, Gaara lowered his hands, looking at Lee like he was even more insane than Gaara was.

"You're still willing to take me?" he asked, unable to retain his former, typical emotionless shell. "But... I admitted to it - I tried to kill you. In your sleep!" Gaara's eyes were wide with wonder.

Lee rolled his eyes. "I just convinced Gai-sensei that you were okay, don't tell me I have to convince you too!" he complained, faking a pout.

"I wouldn't say I was convinced," Gai whined. Gaara shrunk.

Lee groaned, "Gai-sensei! You didn't have to say that! Look at him! He's cute as a bunny now, whatever else he was before now!"

Gai and Gaara both raised an eyebrow. "Cute?" asked Gai. "I'm a bunny?" queried Gaara. Still, he was relieved that Lee made such a distinction between who he was now and then. Even if it was a strange way to think of another person, especially one such as Gaara...

Lee scratched the back of his head, looking awkward. "Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best analogy, but we're losing sight of the point, and besides, I'm hungry! Let's go!" he said, grabbing one of Gaara's hands and dragging him down the hall and out of the too-clinical hospital. Lee hated being hospitals.

* * *

"Gaara!" Temari grinned, dashing through the streets of Konoha, trying to figure out where Gaara went. She'd been looking in every restaurant she came across for the past 15 minutes, and was sure she'd find them soon. Finding another one, she stormed in looking for red hair or a gourd. And there it was! She hoped he'd be glad to hear, she was too excited about the possibilities this opened for him not to be.

She tried to be calm as she walked over to his table and sat down, noticing with surprise Gaara's choice of company - the odd-looking Konoha-nin he'd fought at the Chunnin Exams. His teacher, who was equally strange, was also there, though he didn't look particularly pleased. Lee was talking animatedly while Gaara listened and ate, and it seemed Gai sometimes interjected about something or other. Temari slid into the open seat which was next to Gai and across from Gaara, and leaned forward to tell Gaara the news.

"Gaara! I talked to Kankurou and he agreed to come with us if we got permission, and I talked to Hokage-sama after she was able to get Chouji in a stable condition and she said that not only were we allowed to stay, but that, because of the way the alliance was set up, she could request for us to stay in order to help clean up, so the Suna council won't be able to dismiss us as easily!" She talked quickly and dug out a scroll with the Hokage's seal on it as proof of Tsunade's words.

Gaara looked over the scroll and then at Temari. "We'll be able to stay?" he asked. Gai and Lee (who'd been cut off quite abruptly, by the way) listened, mystified.

Temari nodded, "Probably! We still have to talk to the council in Suna, but with a request from Tsunade-sama, they'll be hard pressed to keep us there!"

Gaara's eyes seemed to brighten a touch more, and something of a smile crossed his face, though the former cruelty that twisted his features in a smirk before was not altogether gone. "Good. They'll agree." Temari faltered, unsure of whether Gaara was planning to threaten the council if they disagreed at first, or if he was merely confident, and she was unused to such an expression on his face. Still, she sat back, not quite as sure of herself as before.

"Agree to what, stay where?" Lee asked, already pretty sure he'd pieced together what they were talking about, but wanting to clarify.

"Here," Gaara said. "In Konoha." Suddenly, he seemed a little tense, as with excitement. he fidgeted and his eyes were bright like they'd never been, though Temari almost wondered if, perhaps, they were a touch too bright... Had Gaara been acting all this time? Did he have some plot in mind, some disastrous design? She didn't think they would have trouble getting out of Suna - she imagined the leaders would be glad to rid themselves of Gaara the monster - but was that truly what he was? Was she about to unleash on Konoha the horrors Suna had suffered? She began to feel doubtful again, hoping against hope that she'd been right before, that Gaara was changing and that the move to Konoha would establish that positive change more firmly.

"Really? That's great! We could certainly use some more help right now!" Lee gushed, beaming and clapping Gaara on the back. Gaara winced a bit at the touch, but, as before, allowed it. Temari, however, remembering past instances when people had tried to touch Gaara, tensed, waiting for a volley of sand to assault Lee. When nothing happened, she sighed relief.

"The three of you are staying here? Where?" Gai-sensei asked Temari, as he still wasn't very happy about Gaara, and liked less the idea that the sand boy should move to Konoha and become a constant danger. Gai didn't trust him as far as he could throw him (which would have been quite a distance).

Temari shrugged. "I suppose we'll find an apartment or something. If we can't find anywhere, we're still shinobi: we'll make do." Still, she wasn't fond of the idea of leaving a house in Suna for a tent in Konoha, now that she thought about it. However, finding an apartment would probably not be too hard, and she could always talk to Hokage-sama if they were having trouble.

Gaara scooted his plate forward. "Here. I don't want anymore, so you can have it, Temari," he said.

"A-Arigatou," she said, looking at it. It was Gaara's favorite, which she happened to dislike. Her distaste, however, did not stop her from picking up a spare pair of chopsticks and choking some down, worrying that she might upset Gaara otherwise. He was trying to be nice (wasn't he?); she could at least try to appreciate it. It was another step in the right direction, but Temari was more careful not to blow it out of proportion now. It would be a while before her insane brother came even close to being what might be called 'normal', and it seemed she would still have to walk on eggshells around him, just in case.

* * *

Kankurou sighed. As he'd expected, the council ruling in the absence of a Kazekage had agreed to let them go, the benefits of getting rid of Gaara outweighing the problem of losing him and Temari. He didn't really want to leave, but Temari had been right when she'd said there was nothing for them in Suna, where Gaara's effect seemed to have tainted and separated them as much as him. And Temari's fist in his face had been a compelling reason too. He was no good at close range combat, especially without his puppets! Granted, melee wasn't Temari's specialty either, but she was pretty tough when she wanted to be!

So, at any rate, that left him packing up his rather sparse positions to move to Konoha. He dreaded being stuck in an apartment with Gaara again, this time for quite a while - perhaps years. It was bad enough sharing his father's large and rather extravagant house with the nutzo; Kankurou was positive that Gaara would have killed him within a week, and probably Temari within the next.

At least they would remain Suna-nin, as far as that was concerned. Kankurou didn't want to think of himself in terms of Konoha - Konoha was weak and peaceful and took everything for granted. He knew better than that, and he was certainly not weak like the Konoha-nin (despite having been defeated by a Konoha rookie - he had conveniently forgotten about Shino)! Besides, the Konoha band looked stupid, and while the Suna band wasn't exactly spectacular, at least it was familiar. "Baka Gaara and Temari..." he muttered, closing up the toolkit he used for fixing or modifying his puppet's and checking to make sure everything else had been packed. He thought so.

Actually, there was a thought. There was no way they could carry all of their things to Konoha. Even though he never thought of himself as having much, he'd managed to fill several suitcases and crates. He knew Temari would have even more, though he wasn't sure about Gaara. Gaara probably had the most stuff out of the three of them since he'd been spoiled so much when he was younger, but Kankurou wasn't sure how much of it Gaara would actually want, especially these days.

No matter how much or little Gaara had, though, they'd have to borrow a cart or something from the village, he guessed. That meant they wouldn't travel very fast. That was an agonizing thought. Kankurou didn't like traveling much, nor camping, though it was a natural part of shinobi. He preferred urban life and streets and floors when it could be helped. And traveling with Gaara, in between villages where there wasn't even an opportunity to call for help... Uhg, Temari said Gaara was changing, but the thought still made him a bit squeamish. It was just sick the way he was afraid of his own little brother. Bakemono.

* * *

Gaara speculated that, had ever slept, he would not be able to tonight. They would leave tomorrow morning, and he was simply itching to go. The only thing that stopped him was that he knew Temari and Kankurou would not be inclined to go with him if he dragged them out of bed early. People wasted too much time sleeping. There were times he wished he could sleep, especially when he was younger, but, once you dealt with the loss of sanity, there were many benefits to not sleeping. For one thing, you got a lot more done, or you could, anyway.

Sleep was over-rated.

He still wouldn't mind trying it, but he'd never do it as often as the rest of the common populace did. That was for sure.

Did Naruto sleep? Gaara would have to ask. He'd wanted to talk to Naruto last time the suna-nin were in Konoha, but they never crossed paths, though Gaara'd heard he was in the hospital and had tried to visit him one day. Still, he would have plenty time now that he was going to be living there.

He couldn't wait, not at all. He wasn't customarily fidgety (unless you counted the shifting of the sand around him when he was in certain moods) but he simply couldn't stop, now. He paced his room, idly checked his sparse luggage for what felt like the millionth time, went through the many belongings he was leaving behind only to decide once again that he had no interest in the things, most of which were connected to bad memories and gave him headaches anyhow.

He'd packed primarily clothes along with a handful of utilitarian objects and one or two things from his childhood that carried too many memories to be left like trash, even if most the memories were bad. He'd only filled three medium sized cases, to Temari and Kankurou's half a dozen crates and cases.

He checked the window again, impatient for the sun to rise. At last, the sky was getting light. That was good enough for him - he went to wake Temari and Kankurou. They wouldn't be happy, but, for better or worse, he knew they still feared him too much to complain.

* * *

Kankurou sighed again from his position in the bench of the cart that Temari had eventually bought to carry their goods. He hated traveling, especially slowly like this. Why couldn't they live in big cities where there were cars and subways and things like that? He'd read about them, visited them sometimes on certain missions, tried to get missions that would take him to such centers of civilization. But as shinobi, what did they get? A cart with a couple of foul-smelling oxen to pull it. Naturally.

Luckily, they'd found a relatively clear forest path that would get them close to Konoha, at least. Granted they still had to clear it at places and sometimes it was too narrow, it at least cut down some of the work, which was more boring and monotonous than taxing, since Temari could use her fan to get rid of big obstructions and Gaara's sand and Kankurou's puppets could grind or cut away smaller ones.

But he was tired, too! His psychotic little brother had dragged Temari and him out of bed at the first barest glimpse of light, and though Kankurou was used to strange sleeping schedules, he'd been counting on at least another hour. "Oi, oi, you two? I'm going to sleep again," he told them, laying down on the bench and trying to get comfortable, which was difficult, especially considering the way the cart kept jostling.

As if reading his mind, Temari responded, "I don't know how you can on that thing, but whatever," with a shrug. Kankurou mumbled some vague obscenities and tried to get to sleep. He hadn't even been able to bother with his face paint, Gaara had wanted to go so fast, and he was certainly not going to try while riding that damnable cart. He felt oddly naked without it. He just hoped they didn't have to make camp for a night - he wanted to get back to civilization - any civilization - as soon as possible.


	4. Arriving: The SunaNin Get Settled

Kankurou got his wish - the three Suna-nin arrived at Konoha at midnight under the thin light of the crescent moon. Yawning, Temari had checked them into a hotel. It was a cheap, rather foul-looking place, but it was the only one she could find open, and tomorrow they'd be moving into an apartment anyway, if all went well. Temari and Kankurou had crashed into the beds gratefully without even noticing the rather foul sake and sex smell and had fallen asleep almost immediately.

Gaara had agreed to watch the cart and their belongings, since the other two were too tired to move it and Gaara didn't want to. Besides, they'd have to be idiots to leave it without a guard in a village full of shinobi. Gaara had decided to sit atop the luggage piled in the cart, looking at the crescent moon and scattered stars. The constellations were different here than in Suna - not by a lot, but he could tell, since he spent so much time looking at the night sky. It was quiet and peaceful. Despite the recent devastation, Konoha knew none of the tense silence that wrapped and oppressed Suna village's nights.

Occasionally, sounds broke through the quiet. Gaara was alert to them all out of habit, having grown with a need to be weary of assassins. One came closer, a gentle huffing sound. Gaara turned and began looking around, tracking the sound without heed of his post gaurding the luggage. "Oh. Lee-san - why are you out so late? And what are you doing?" Gaara asked as he saw Konoha's green beast approaching on his palms.

Lee looked up and grinned. "Gaara-kun. When did you get here?" he asked. "And actually, I'm up early, not out late. Since I can't work as hard as I used to yet, I try to work more," Lee explained, grinning. "I have to do 100 laps like this, or esle I'll have to run 200 upside down in the trees!"

"Why?" Gaara asked, wondering if Lee's odd sensei, Gai, had told him that.

"Because! If I can't succeed, then I just have to push myself harder!" Lee explained with another grin, shifting his weight onto one hand so he could use the other to give Gaara a thumbs-up.

"Why do you work so hard?" the suna-nin asked.

"Because I have to make my dream come true. I have to prove I can be a great ninja too, even without genjutsu or ninjutsu!" Lee told Gaara with an earnest expression on his face.

"That is a difficult dream," Gaara said listlessly, in thought. What was his dream? Did he have a dream? How could he, when he never slept? How could you dream without sleep! Maybe sleep wasn't so over-rated after all... "Does Naruto have a dream?" he asked abruptly.

Lee looked surprise. "Well, yeah. He tells everyone he meets - he wants to be the next Hokage," he said. He was sure Naruto had mentioned it around Gaara, so he was even more surprised.

Gaara nodded - he remembered that now. "Ah-!" Gaara groaned, clutching his head, as one memory drew another and another behind it, creating a chain that always inevitably ended in the Hell of his childhood.

"Ga-Gaara-kun!" Lee exclaimed, hopping back onto his feet and putting his hands on Gaara's shoulders. Gaara tugged away, no longer fully aware of the world around him, but reliving that day when Yashamaru had tried to kill him yet again. It was always just as clear as crystal, just like it was happening that very instant, because Gaara had no proper grasp on the passage of time, and all his thoughts and memories bled together so he was never exactly sure if his experiences were unfolding as he witnessed them or if he was merely reliving a memory. "Gaara-kun! Are you all right?" Lee asked, grabbing a tighter hold of Gaara and tilting his face up to look in his eyes.

"Doshite? Doshite, Yashamaru! Doshite!" Gaara pleaded in a child's voice. His eyes were open wide and his 'pupils' constricted till they almost seemed to be gone altogether.

Lee shook him hard, beginning to be afraid also. "Wake up! Gaara, wake up!" he commanded, giving Gaara a good hard slap on the face when shaking seemed to have no effect. The sand blocked it, but it was enough. Gaara pulled himself out of the nightmare and back into what he assumed to be reality.

"Lee...!" he pleaded. "It hurts...!" Gaara didn't expect anything. No one had ever done anything for him, and he had not even bothered asking for much since he was a child, realizing no one would help, let alone sympathize. But the Konoha-nin had not lived in fear of him, and they were more compassionate than the desert-hardened Suna-nin. Lee pulled him into a bear hug.

Gaara tried to pull away for a moment, unused to being held, fearing an attack, fearing his own weakness, unsure what to expect and hurting, but Lee would not let him go, even tightened his grasp. "Gaara-kun, you helped me - let me help you," Lee said comfortingly. Gaara still trembled but stopped fighting and waited, wondering what would happen.

"You're sweaty," he said finally, when the headache had passed and he could breathe evenly again.

Lee chuckled and backed away. "Yeah, sorry about that... You looked like you needed a hug though!" he explained. Gaara had such sad eyes. Lee didn't like people's eyes being sad like that - it was how his eyes had been when he thought he'd have to give up being a ninja. Lee got back on his hands. "I need to finish my laps now. I should probably start over, even though I wasn't giving up..." Lee pondered whether he should pick up where he left off, start over, or go to run 200 laps upside down.

"Can I go with you?" Gaara asked, even though it was beginning to grow light and Temari and Kankurou would probably be getting up soon. He still probably had a few hours, since he imagined they'd be sleeping late.

"Umm, sure, I guess so," Lee said, doing something that might have been a shrug, but it didn't really work right when doing a handstand. Gaara chose to walk as he usually did, rather than on his hands, since it occurred to him he'd never done that before, and his head still hurt a little - he didn't want to send all the blood rushing to it.

So Naruto had a dream... Gaara supposed he should have a dream too... Did that mean he had to sleep? He couldn't do that or Shukaku would eat away at what was left of his mind! "Does Naruto sleep?" Gaara asked when they'd been walking for a few minutes in mutual silence.

"Wha-? Well, yes, I assume so. Why?" Lee asked, looking up to give Gaara an odd look.

"I can't, because of my Shukaku. And if I can't sleep, I can't have dreams. I thought maybe Naruto didn't sleep, and if that was so, it would mean he'd found a way to dream anyhow, and that there was a way for me. But I guess there isn't," Gaara explained, seeming vaguely dejected.

"You can't sleep?"

"Right."

"Well, that must bite, but that's not the point. You can have a dream without sleeping. Dream is figurative - like a goal, an ambition or desire," Lee explained, still not sure he understood why Gaara didn't sleep.

"Oh." Gaara thought some more. He could handle that. What did he want? What was his goal, his ambition, his desire? He wasn't sure. He'd never had such a thing before - he'd simply existed to kill, without any particular direction in mind or thing to exist for. He supposed for now his 'dream' was to gain important people, and to make them think of him as important. He wanted to be 'family' to Temari and Kankurou, and 'friends' with Naruto, Lee, and maybe some of the other Konoha-nin. He wanted to figure out what it was like to not be alone anymore. Was that a good dream? Gaara thought that if he slept, it would be a very good dream to have. He decided that was his dream.

"Lee-san?" Gaara asked, his tone a bit subdued, even cautious.

"Yeah, Gaara-kun?" Lee asked, glancing up.

"Why did it make me feel better when you... 'hugged' me?" Gaara asked, trying to remember what Lee had called it. He'd heard the word 'hug' before, and knew what it meant, but to think of someone doing it to him... it was a strange application, and he almost wasn't sure he was using it right - maybe Lee had meant to say 'hold' and had just said 'hug' on accident.

Lee looked surprised. "What do you mean? Haven't people hugged you before?" Lee asked, half joking with the last line.

"Not since I was a very small child. If you haven't noticed, I'm not precisely seen as... 'cuddly.'" Gaara murmured.

Lee got very serious, on hearing that. That just wasn't right! People needed hugs! No wonder Gaara was so messed up! "You need more hugs! Hugs make you feel better because it means that person cares about you!" Lee said. ((A/N – my personal philosophy is more hugs for everyone! -))

It was Gaara's turn to be surprised. For a moment, he was quiet, turning this over in his mind. "So... that means... you care about me?"

Lee did another awkward looking shrug. "Yeah. Sort of like I said before, you look like someone he needs someone to care about them." Lee grinned again.

"But... you have no reason to - you have all the reason not to!" Gaara complained, unable to wrap his psychotic mind around this idea.

"Gaara-kun, would you stop worrying about that! Do you still want to kill me?" Lee demanded, sounding mildly irate.

"No!" Gaara responded emphatically. Why did Lee ask that? Did Lee think Gaara still wanted to kill him!

"And are you glad you were stopped before?" Lee continued.

"Yes!" Gaara half-shouted.

"Then it's O.K.! We've already been over the fact that you saved my life twice against Kimimaro to compensate for trying to take it before, and as long as you're not still interested in killing me, than I'm not interested in holding a grudge or even thinking about it anymore! Just let me FORGET, Gaara!" Lee said, sounding angry as he finished - he was getting impatient, and when Gaara kept bringing it up, it made it harder and harder for Lee to ignore.

The two walked in silence for the next few moments, Lee angry and trying to calm down and Gaara digesting this information. "Alright. I won't talk about it again," Gaara resolved.

Lee sighed relief. "Good." They spent the rest of the time in more or less companionable silence, with Gaara lost in thought again. By the time Lee had completed his laps, the sun was well up and he was huffing hard. Lee stood on his feet, shaking and stretching out his arms. "Let's get some breakfast," he said, leading the way to a small stand he knew opened early - it was his usual stop after training in the mornings.

"Where's Naruto?" Gaara asked as they sat down to order.

"He's out on a mission," Lee said and, upon further questioning, began to explain what he knew, which was not a wealth, but enough.

* * *

Temari woke slowly and rose with a faint smile, stretching as she yawned. It might be a crappy hotel with a shitty bed that stank like all get out, but it beat sleeping on the ground in the forest for sure, and she felt so much better now! She'd slept late; it had to be eight o'clock or so... "Oi, Kankurou, wake up!" she called, feeling oddly cheery. She couldn't say why, but she felt that today would be a good day.

Kankurou grumbled and rolled over. Temari stood and stretched some more before going over and shaking Kankurou. "Oi! Baka puppet boy, it's time to get up!"

Kankurou batted away at her, complaining, "Why? 's'not like we've got anything that needs to be done right away."

"Well, we need to find an apartment so we don't have to stay in this shit hole any longer than we have to," Temari said, giving Kankurou another shake.

Kankurou pushed her away again, grumbling "Yeah, yeah, ok, fine," as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He wrinkled his nose as he became aware of the smell. "It is a shithole..." he commented.

"So let's go!" Temari said, dragging him to his feet. Kankurou glared death at her, which she returned in the form of a smile far too cheery for before breakfast.

"What's the rush?" he muttered, following her out of the door reluctantly. At least he didn't have to worry about doing his face paint yet - he'd forgotten to bring it in last night, so he had an excuse to not do anymore than absolutely necessary. Sort of. He'd paint his face after he ate and woke up fully. Fuck who saw him.

Temari went down the stairs in good spirits, tossing the room key onto the front desk and heading out, looking for Gaara. She imagined he wouldn't be out sitting on the cart, but he should be nearby. Normally, when she and Kankurou got out in the mornings Gaara joined them as soon as he saw they were up for lack of anything better to do. "Gaara?" she called when he wasn't found within a few moments.

"Aw fuck, don't tell me he's gone," Kankurou griped, looking frustrated and a little nervous as he glanced about. Nothing like a good Gaara scare to get the blood flowing in the mornings.

"We'd better find him," Temari said anxiously. "I don't think he'd be causing trouble, but..."

"Right..." Kankurou said. What a way to start the day... he just knew today was going to suck.

* * *

Temari sighed relief. "Kankurou, there he is! With that leaf kid, Lee," she said, pointing.

"Oi, he looks slaughter free, even," Kankurou remarked irritably.

Temari jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. "Damare!" she hissed, approaching the stand. "Ohayo, Gaara, Lee-san. It is Lee-san, right?" she said, taking a seat next to Gaara since she knew Kankurou would never do such a thing and leaning forward to confirm with Lee his name.

"Ohayo, Temari," Gaara said.

"Yes, it's Lee. And you're Temari then?" Lee asked, grinning as he stuffed food into his mouth after he finished talking.

"Hai," Temari said with a nod, "Gaara's older sister," she added, smiling as she cautiously placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. Gaara jolted a little and looked at her in mild surprise, but then relaxed and went back to eating without complaint. At the jolt, Temari was worried for a moment, but grew relieved when Gaara did nothing more. It took courage to touch Gaara like that, but she'd been offering him relief for a while now- he needed it.

Kankurou took the other seat next to Temari and cradled his head in his arms, apparently wanting to go back to sleep. However, after that scare and now Lee and Temari talking animatedly about something he didn't care enough to even figure out what they were actually talking about, such efforts were useless. With a sigh, he ordered breakfast.

* * *

"Oi, Gaara, Kankurou and I are going to find an apartment. Are you coming or staying with Lee?" Temari asked, after pushing away her plate. Gaara looked at Lee questioningly.

"Well, I was going to train with Tenten and Neji... You're welcome to come with, if you want, but you should probably help your siblings find some place to stay. You can come meet us for lunch, though. We'd planned to eat at Ichiraku," Lee said, looking thoughtful.

Gaara nodded and stood up to go with Temari and Kankurou, "Arigatou, Lee-san. Ja ne," he said, waving as he and his older siblings left.

"Ja ne, Lee-san!" Temari called, smiling brightly. It was a good day so far - they'd had a little scare, but Gaara was fine and had apparently been with Lee the whole time. "Oi, we need to get back to the cart - Kankurou and I put a genjutsu on it to hide it, but someone might discover it." she said.

"I'll find it and meet up with you two," Gaara volunteered.

"No, stick with me, Gaara, dozo. Kankurou knows where and how we hid it anyhow," Temari said, knowing that Kankurou still wanted to get his face paint and that he would like a break from dealing with people, especially his psychotic little brother. Kankurou was not exactly a social butterfly at the best of times, and mornings were especially bad. Besides, this way they wouldn't have to worry about where Gaara went off to and what trouble he might cause.

"All right," Gaara conceded.

"Ja, Temari," Kankurou said as he turned off to fetch their things and those damn oxen.

"All right then, let's get started... oh, kuso! We should have asked Lee where to look! Oh well, we'll find someone else..." Temari sighed, looking irritated at herself. She began looking for someone to ask, when she recognised a boy with dark hair pulled back into a ragged ponytail and a chuunin's coat.

"Oi, it's him, that guy I fought at the Chuunin exam, and helped in that last mission… Shikamaru, I think," she said, more or less thinking out loud, before yelling out "Shikamaru! Oi, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru turned to see who was calling him and sighed when he saw Temari, walking over in no particular hurry. "Oi, Temari-chan. Why are you here?" he asked in his general bored-sounding tone, casting a wary glance at Gaara, and getting on his guard. That guy was freaky. He knew the Suna-nin were on their side now, and Temari had helped before, but he was still creeped out by Gaara - the guy was definitely insane.

"My brothers and I are moving to Konoha. We need to find an apartment to stay at - can you point us in the right direction?" she asked, looking around as though it would suddenly become clear where she might find such apartments.

"Eh, it's troublesome, but yeah, I can help you find a place. I was going to stop by Naruto's to drop something off for him anyway. You can probably find a room there..." Shikamaru said, shrugging as he held up a scroll, presumably the thing he meant to drop off. _That nutjob and this crazy girl are moving here? Medoukuse... I'll have to give them a wide birth. Kuso._

"Domo, Shikamaru-kun," Temari said, smiling.

"Yeah, whatever," he said airily, leading the way, wary of the demon-possessed suna-shounen at his back. It didn't matter that he was a chuunin while they appeared to still be genin, Gaara was stronger than he was, and he wasn't sure how the chips would fall in another match against Temari.

"Why are you here, anyhow?" Shikamaru asked, glancing back at Temari. Had the Suna-nin come to clean up the mess they'd left?

Temari glanced at Gaara, unsure whether he'd want his part in it revealed or not, and began, "Our father was killed by Orochimaru and there was nothing left for us in Suna. We thought we'd help clean up our karma by coming to help Konoha." She shrugged.

Gaara nodded once - a minimal motion, and added, "I wanted to talk to Naruto again."

Shikamaru tensed. "What for?" He couldn't forget the way Gaara'd tried to kill Lee for no other reason than he wanted to. What if he now felt the same about Naruto? Hell, Gaara'd promised to kill them both - what if he attacked Shikamaru!

"I wanted to talk to him about our demons... and ask him about important people," Gaara replied. He could tell Shikamaru was wary of him. He didn't like it. He tried not to get angry, and kept his sand at bay. He wasn't going to be the sabaku no bakemono anymore! He would not scare people and attack them for such things! He just wanted to not be lonely anymore. "I'm not here to cause more harm," he added, trying to control his voice.

Shikamaru was only a little mollified by this statement. "Well, he probably isn't going to be around for a while..." he stated. "He went with Sakura and Jiraiya-sannin to scout out Oto gakure, I think."

"Hai, Lee told me," Gaara said.

"Nani!" Shikamaru half-shouted. Gaara had been talking to Lee?

"Lee told me..." Gaara said, confused by Shikamaru's reaction.

"We just had breakfast with him," Temari explained to Shikamaru.

"But-! But you-! Ah, mendoukuse!" Shikamaru moaned, putting a hand to his forehead in expression of one suffering a great burden. It was too confusing and too troublesome to puzzle out now.

"Lee told me it didn't matter that I tried to kill him before. He said to forget it," Gaara said, realizing what Shikamaru was on about. His fists clenched as he tried to defend himself. He didn't like the way Shikamaru was acting, though he knew he shouldn't blame the Konoha-nin. Even so... He was trying not to be a monster anymore, but Shukaku kept pushing him, and things kept happening...

"Whatever... It's too troublesome for me to worry about," Shikamaru griped. He remembered Lee saying Gaara had helped him against some weird bone-guy, but even so...

"Everything's too troublesome for you, isn't it?" Temari said, putting her hands on her hips. She was getting worried by the rustling noise in Gaara's gourd, and was eager to change the conversation.

"Oi, do you want me to take you to the apartment place or not?" Shikamaru asked, stuffing his nose up in the air.

Temari sighed, "Hai, hai..."

Temari need not have acquiesced, however, because upon making the next turn, Naruto's apartment complex came into view. "Here we are," Shikamaru sighed, gesturing weakly.

"Domo again, Shikamaru-kun," Temari said.

Shikamaru waved bye and hopped on the elevator to go to Naruto's floor. Temari led Gaara to the front desk and began inquiring about the rooms, pricing, and other necessaries. Gaara felt relieved Shikamaru was gone at last. Temari noticed with relief the quiet that returned to Gaara's sand.

* * *

Kankurou glared as he carried in their things while Temari got to sit and discuss the little details about the apartment with one of the workers and Gaara stood there looking more lifeless than his puppets did (of course, he was biased in favor of his puppets...). Why did he always get stuck with the grunt work in situations like this? Temari had given him the number and the key to the apartment they were getting and had then left to finalize the details - you know, sign here, here, here and initial here, all that jazz. Not that he really would have preferred that anyway. Maybe Gaara had the right of things - you couldn't be made to do anything you didn't want to when you were off your fuckin' rocker.

"Aw, chikoushou..." he grumbled as he fumbled to get the key with his arms full of crates. Then he heard a familiar hissing noise and footsteps. He looked up, surprised and honestly a bit worried - Gaara. Sand streaked towards him and slipped the key out of his pocket, deftly putting it in the lock and opening the door. The control Gaara could have over that sand, when he bothered to... Sugoi.

"Uh, Domo..." Kankurou murmured stepping in and looking around to figure out what to do with the stuff he was carrying. After a few moments he shrugged and put it down in a corner of the empty front room. Gaara followed suit and Kankurou realized his little brother had actually been carrying some things up as well.

It took them several trips to get everything up, and they had not brought any furniture - they'd sold what they had back home to buy new pieces here since taking it all would have been ludicrous. It would be a very uncomfortable first few nights, Kankurou expected. "Arigatou, Gaara," he said belatedly. His little psycho brother had never helped him out with anything before, so he supposed he should encourage the practice, even if he was in a shitty mood and had been for the past few weeks - since his father had died, more or less... Bastard

"It's nothing..." Gaara replied. "Is it lunch time?"

"Uhm, yeah, just about..." Kankurou answered. Was the crazy little shit hungry already?

"C'mon, let's get Temari. We have to go to Ichiraku," Gaara said, leading the way out. "Lock the door," he reminded.

"Why Ichiraku?" Kankurou asked - he wasn't in the mood for ramen, really...

"I'm meeting Lee there," Gaara said. Kankurou could swear Gaara sounded happy, which was odd because Kankurou had never heard a truly happy Gaara, though there was the insane, blood-giddy version...

"The kid you beat in the 3rd Chuunin Exam prelims?" Kankurou confirmed.

"Hai."

"Why him?"

"Because... He hugged me," Gaara said, like it made perfect sense. Actually, he was still shocked by it.

So was Kankurou ­- his eyes widened and his jaw dropped, and he imagined he must look like some ridiculous anime character. _That kid hugged Gaara? He's got balls! How could anyone hug Gaara, especially after he'd tried to kill them like Lee? Screw Gaara, it's the Konoha-nin that are crazy!_


	5. A New Start! Family and Friends

"AHHHH!" A piercing shriek cut through the air.

Temari woke abruptly and scrambled out of the tangled covers, stumbling through her room to throw on her robe and run to the source. Gaara practically fell off the roof of the apartment complex and hurried down the side of the building and into a window to find out what was going on - maybe someone who had a grudge against him had come after his siblings? Odd time for it, though - early morning.

Temari banged on the bathroom door - it was definitely Kankurou, and definitely coming from there. "Kankurou, what's going on, what's wrong!" she called.

"It's awful, Temari! Go away! And buy some zit cream!" Kankurou called through the door.

"Na-? NANI?" Temari gasped.

"What's wrong?" Gaara said as he entered and calmed down upon seeing no great danger.

"You mean that horrible scream which probably woke up the whole building was because of a BREAKOUT?" Temari demanded, pounding on the door.

"You'd scream too if you got up to take a leak and happened to look in the mirror and see a monster staring at you while you've got a hand on your penis! God that hurt like a bitch!" Kankurou practically screeched. He'd jumped at the sight and accidentally squeezed himself - hard.

"It can't be that bad," Temari growled, "Now open the damn door!"

"Nuuuu!" Kankurou moaned. "Oh god, it was bad enough being confined in this apartment, now I'm going to be stuck in a bathroom!" he whined.

"OPEN IT!" Temari demanded.

"NO!"

"Gaara, get that door open, onegai!" Temari said, turning and looking at her little brother, who appeared baffled by the exchange.

"Okay..." he said, summoning his sand and slipping it through the crack to unlock the door from the other side.

"No, you don't! Get your damn sand out of here, Gaara!" Kankurou yelled, grabbing a hold of the doorknob to keep Gaara from getting at it. Not that stopped him. Gaara pushed more sand through to pry Kankurou's hands away and a moment later the door swung open.

Kankurou had just enough time to tug his boxers closed and try to hide his face. Temari stormed over and pulled Kankurou's hands away (though she was observant enough to grab at the wrist, not the hand!).

"Oh... my..." Temari snorted, "GOD!" she pulled away, laughing harder than she had ever before. Gaara peeped in.

"Wow... that explains the make up..." Gaara said.

"Baka! I'm not NORMALLY like this!" Kankurou yelled.

"It... you... no one has problems with zits in the Suna village... 'cause it's too dry! But... But!" Temari could barely speak through the laughter, "You're skin... is naturally oily! And - And! you always put on all that greasy make up! And never clean it off right!" Temari was doubled over. "So - So now that we're in Konoha's moist climate... The dry heat from Suna isn't present... so you broke out!" she choked out, clutching her gut as she explained.

"Yeah, yeah, I noticed! Go buy me some zit cream, damnit! I'm not leaving till this is cleared up! No amount of make up can cover this!" Kankurou moaned, trying to push Temari out.

"Sure! But... But you owe me!" Temari said, in hysterics as she went to change and go buy some (very strong!) zit cream for Kankurou, whose face resembled nothing so much as a small pox case in her expert opinion.

* * *

Gaara walked quietly down the apartment hall and used his sand to place the key in the door and open it, as his hands were full, and he didn't want to risk breaking the fragile ceramic vase.

He pushed his way in and closed the door, seeing his siblings in the kitchen, eating. Or rather, they were eating until they'd seen Gaara come in.

Temari swallowed. "Gaara... what's with the flowers...?" she asked, gesturing with the chopsticks at the rather large arrangement Gaara was carrying.

"I thought you said you wanted some for your room... So I had the lady at the flower store help me pick out these," he explained.

Temari smiled. "They're perfect - arigatou!" she said, standing up and meeting Gaara half way to take the flowers - they were white and yellow lillies. "I know just the place!" she murmured, admiring them happily as she walked back to her room to put them away. She liked Gaara like this! She'd never go back to Suna!

Kankurou shrugged as he went back to eating the cheap stove-top ramen. It was easy to make, so they had quite a lot of it. None of them were good cooks.

Gaara dug around in the messenger bag slung over his shoulder and retrieved a book bound western-style. He held it out practically underneath Kankurou's nose. "I found this for you, too. It described some techniques I didn't recognize, so I thought you might want to take a look…" he explained briefly.

Kankurou bit off the noodles hanging out of his mouth rather than slurping them and possibly splashing the book, and took it, flipping casually through the pages. The cover said it was a book on marionette-ninjutsu. At first it seemed to go over basics and the 'noble history' of puppeteering, blah, blah, blah, but about midway through the heavy volume there were many more advanced techniques, some of which Kankurou had (unsuccessfully) been trying to figure out on his own, and some he didn't even recognize, but definitely was interested in. As he flipped, he became more and more excited, grinning sloppily. "Arigatou, Gaara…!" he said, still looking at the book. Abruptly, he snapped it shut and looked up into Gaara's eyes. "Oi, oi, what the hell is going on, anyhow?" he asked.

Gaara looked away – which Kankurou found slightly disconcerting because before **he'd** always been the one to back down, **never** Gaara. "Well?" he asked, setting the book down.

Gaara shifted his weight to his back foot, looking as though he was preparing to turn and run, if necessary. He thought a few moments. "You and Temari are my older siblings. We're not supposed to be… like this – like what we were before. We're supposed to be family," he said. _Family is just hunks of meat connected by hate and murderous intent!_ Shukaku roared. Gaara clasped a hand over his head, over the 'tattoo' and winced. _Shut up._ He growled back.

Kankurou looked wary and stood, ready to defend himself or run if Gaara got out of control. Gaara was getting harder and harder to read these days – signs that once meant flee or die didn't always mean trouble… And Gaara seemed to be generally acting different, strange. These days, Kankurou was unsure of his standing with his now flighty brother. Which just sickened him, almost more than his fear did.

"Why do you care now? Why be family now? With Kaa-san and Kazekage dead, away from home and amongst strangers? Why do you give a shit all of a sudden? And what's with this," Kankurou said, holding up the book, "And the flowers? Are you trying to buy Temari and me off? You think you can threaten me and scare the shit out of me for six years and then you can give me a book about puppeteering and suddenly everything will be all better and we can play house? WELL FUCK THAT!" He yelled, slamming the book down. He hadn't meant to yell and suddenly the gravity of what he'd just done hit him. His eyes widened and he took a step back, positive Gaara would be calling his sand any moment now and that he would finally really kill him.

"Ga-Gaara, I…" he muttered, wondering if he should apologize or just shut up and run.

"Gomen nasai, Kankurou…" Gaara murmured, wiping at his eyes – was he crying? Kankurou didn't **see** any tears… "I just… am tired of being a monster!" he said, turning and heading for the window, apparently to leave.

Kankurou glared at his back and muttered, "You'll always be the monster of the Sand."

Gaara stiffened and resolutely continued. "I know this doesn't fix anything… just please, give me a chance!" he pleaded, sliding the windowsill up.

"Gaara! Wait a second!"

Gaara turned. "Doshite?"

Temari stormed out into the room. She looked pained. "Gaara… Don't listen to him! Do you really want to be family now, Gaara?" she asked.

Slowly, Gaara nodded, unable to speak. He'd never had much talent at revealing himself.

"You said yourself you never thought of us as siblings! You've said before that family means nothing to you but a bloodline of hate and murder!" Kankurou huffed.

"Damare!" Temari screeched at Kankurou. "Or I'll kill you myself!" she said, stealing Gaara's threat. While they argued, Gaara slipped away. He looked for Lee.

* * *

"Damn it, Kankurou! Why do you have to be such a **SHIT-HEAD** sometimes! I think the fumes from all your face paint are killing off what precious few brain cells you have! If Gaara wants to be like a normal little brother, what the **Hell** could you possibly have against it! **YOU'VE** certainly griped enough times about him not listening to you!" Temari yelled, whacking Kankurou over the head.

Kankurou winced and thwacked her a good one back. "NO! I'm sick of doing everything that little shit wants me to! I'm the puppeteer, not him, and I **won't** be his puppet! **And** I'm not going to be bought off so easily! You got me to come to this stupid, weak village, but that doesn't mean I have to be gracious and accept that little demon sin-against-nature as my brother!" he growled back.

"Don't call him that!" Temari commanded, glaring death.

"What? A demon sin-against-nature?" He said, taunting. "Because that's exactly what the crazy shit is! Father was insane to mess with Shukaku and it seems the insanity bloomed in Gaara all too well!"

"You're insane not to be grateful that he's **trying** to be a better person!" She said.

"Well it must run in the family because **you're** insane to just go along with this! You've always laid down on your back for him and done whatever he wanted!" Kankurou said accusingly, knowing very well how true his words were.

Temari snapped and punched him so hard he stumbled back into the wall. She was crying. "Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up! That wasn't his fault! And besides, you did the same thing for Father! So you've got no room to talk!" Temari turned heel and went to find Gaara, wiping at her eyes and trying to keep from crying any more.

Kankurou glared death in her wake and slammed the wall he leaned against. Damn her. Damn her and Gaara and his crazy, desperate, fuckin' father. "I hate this family… Gaara's right – family is just so many people connected by hate and murder," he growled. He grabbed the book and went back to his room to start practicing the new jutsu. He hated to admit it, but he thought he was going to really like the book the little shit had found him. Shit. Did that make him indebted? No – no, it was just the first in a long run of payback.

* * *

Predictable as always, Lee was training in the forest, in his usual spot. He was alone this time – it was the weekend, and his partners were relaxing, and Gai was out, probably challenging Kakashi. Gaara had learned about the ritual from Lee at some point. He supported Kakashi in most cases.

"Lee," Gaara said simply, landing neatly in the clearing a short distance from Lee, who was doing a series of kicks against a log.

Lee smiled, used to Gaara showing up unexpectedly, and quietly. "Hey Gaara!" Lee said with a brief salute before returning to his training. "How are you?"

Gaara sighed, leaning casually against a tree. "I've been better…"

Lee looked mildly surprised. "Really? What's the matter?"

"Remember when you suggested I buy my brother and sister some gifts?" Gaara asked quietly, so Lee had to struggle to hear him over the 'thud' of his kicks landing on the log.

"Yeah, I remember. Did something go wrong…?" Lee asked, looking concerned and wondering what could have.

"Kankurou got mad. He thought I was trying to buy them off. I suppose that's what it amounts to. I can't really blame him. I've… not been the best brother to Temari or Kankurou…" Gaara seemed somewhat uncomfortable…

"Oh… well, he'll cool down, and you can talk to him later. Apologize, explain things. Whatever. He can't stay mad forever – you're family."

Gaara looked up abruptly. "Just what does that mean?" He asked, almost snapped, really.

Lee was surprised by the sharpness of Gaara's tone. "Well… It's blood, and it's people connected by-"

Shukaku muttered into Gaara's thoughts, _hate and murderous intent, hate, hate, hate and murderous intent! Kankurou will never forgive you, and neither will Temari!_ Gaara's hand snapped to his forehead, he groaned in pain.

"Are you all right!" Lee asked, stopping his training and stepping forward to help.

Gaara nodded, "Yeah, I'll be fine… Just – Just continue!" He grunted, rubbing at his head painfully. With his free hand, he dug into his pouch – Gai-sensei had hooked him up with some strong headache pills from Godaime-sama. He swallowed one and washed it down with some water from a flask he now carried at all times. A few moments later he relaxed.

Lee looked at him with concern and continued hesitantly, "Family is… is having people you know will be there for you when you need them, when you're alone or in need of help, and knowing that you would do the same for them." Lee put a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Are you all right."

Gaara nodded jerkily. Tsunade's pills worked fast. "Hai. Arigatou, Lee-san."

"Not at all, Gaara-kun."

* * *

"Temari?" Gaara asked, breathing heavy, his hands on his knees. His sand hovered about him protectively.

"Yeah, Gaara-kun?" she asked, wiping sweat off her brow as she used her fan for support. The two were sparring. Gaara had never really 'sparred' before. Not only did he have little need of such practice but no one would willingly step into a fight against the sabaku no bakemono. It was suicide. At least, until Gaara met Naruto. Now, he didn't want to kill, the Shukaku still bothered him and tried to get Gaara to kill using every trick he knew from threats to mimicing a matron voice and telling Gaara what to do. Right now, Shukaku screamed at Gaara to kill Temari but he shoved the voice away with a firm 'no'. But he couldn't do it alone. Temari had to help - it hurt too much to fight alone.

Gaara winced as Shukaku's screech pierced the walls of his mind. "Am I an important person to you?" he asked, a hand going to his head. _Go away!_ he told Shukaku.

_Of course you're not - you've tried to kill her and Kankurou too many times! She's too scared of you! She hates you! You're just a crazy monster!_ The tanuki yelled.

Temari looked a bit surprised. "Well... yeah. You're my little brother. Of course you're an important person."

_You don't believe those lies, do you? What an arbitrary reason, anyhow. Remember Yashamaru - he said he loved you! He tried to kill you! This wench is just looking for an oppurtunity to bury a knife in your back!_

Gaara grunted as Shukaku awakened the memory of Yashamaru's betrayal in gross detail. "Gaara! Are you all right?" Temari exclaimed, letting her heavy fan fall and walking over to her psychotic brother, wary of him but knowing he needed help. It was just that... when he started getting headaches, he became very unpredictable. It was the worst time to be around him.

"Besides being your brother! Why am I important? Am I really important?" he pleaded, his eyes squinting open through pain, begging for help.

Temari was terrified. She'd never seen Gaara like this - never. But he looked so miserable... she couldn't run because she was afraid - that would only make him worse. She steeled herself and laid a gentle hand on his head, raking her fingers through his hair in a show of affection. "You _are_ important, Gaara." she said, looking him straight in the eyes and trying to make it so even Gaara's pain and psychosis blurred eyes could see.

"Why, though? Why? I don't understand, Temari! And he's fighting me! I need to know why!" he begged, breaking down into sobs. _She's so full of lies - you can't trust a woman. They're all full of hate, just like your mother. Your own mother damned you to being a monster all your life - gave you your prophetic name. Gaara - you are a demon who loves only himself! You love slaughter! Don't let this lying wench hurt you!_ Shukaku struck a nerve in bringing up Gaara's mother and he knew it. He grinned smugly in Gaara's mind as Gaara tried to tell himself Temari wasn't full of hate. _If she wanted to hurt me, she would have done so by now! I'm weak enough! She has the oppurtunity, but I'm still alive and unharmed!_ he yelled at Shukaku.

"I... I don't know how to explain it to you, Gaara-kun!" Temari said, wishing she were better with words, that she were a poet or some such thing. "You're... family!" she told him, knowing he wouldn't understand that.

"Family is just lumps of meat connected by hate and murderous intent!" Shukaku yelled so forcefully Gaara echoed him aloud as he grabbed Temari's bicep fiercely, his only anchor to his god-forsaken reality.

"Not blood family, Gaara! Family connected by love and experience, not hate or intent!" Temari told him, wincing as he grabbed her. Taijutsu wasn't any of the Suna-nin's specialty and none of the three were particularly physically strong when compared to other shinobi, but Gaara's grip still hurt - it had Shukaku's ferocity in it. Gaara wanted an anchor but Shukaku wanted to make the girl scream and bleed.

Gaara nodded. He could believe that - he could try. "You're not lying to me?" he pleaded. "I swear if you're lying to me..." he broke down and clung closer to Temari.

Temari shook her head and drew Gaara into a cautious but no less warm hug. "No, I'm not lying, Gaara. You're important. Tell me what's wrong, Gaara. What's going on; how can I help you? Don't you make me helpless again, Gaara!" she yelled at him, holding him tight. She was so _sick_ of seeing Gaara in pain and being unable to help, so _sick_ of seeing Gaara lose control and not be able to to anything but cajole and hope, so _sick_ of her brother's damnation! She barely controlled the urge to slap some sense into him.

"It's him! Shukaku! He's... He's angry because I won't kill anymore! Temari! Help me!" he begged. He was shaking - Shukaku and his memory had never attacked him like they had since moving to Konoha and trying to change himself. It was an all out war for control; it was a battle for his insanity. _Go to sleep! It's easier that way! Relax and take a break! Forget about these people!_ Shukaku commanded, trying to seduce Gaara with the idea of rest. And it was working. It was so tempting, to let Shukaku take over and never have to deal with the world or change again...

_NO! I'm in control here! I finally have found people who don't hate me! People who don't fear me! Why would I want to forget them? You've had six years being in control, six years I did practically everything you asked, now it's MY time! I AM IN CONTROL! I AM GAARA!_ He screamed and screamed in his mind, trying to stay focused on the present, on reality, and keep from drifting into his memories, but he still couldn't be sure when or where he was. Was he with Temari? Was that a memory? Was he still in Suna? Back in Suna?

"How, Gaara? What can I do!" Temari cried, rubbing her brother's head and back, knowing he needed help to stay focused, knowing his grasp on reality was frail. Whatever she could do, she would. She had to!

"Tell me! Tell me, tell me! Tell me I'm important, you don't hate me, don't hate me, please don't hate me!" he said, not sure and not caring if he was pleading with reality or a memory. _You never slept! Only once or twice, and never long! You're tired, go to sleep!_ "Temari, I'm so tired! Don't let me fall asleep or I'll never wake-up again!" he said, choking back a yawn as the tanuki persauded him, reminded him of twelve years with virtually no sleep and little enough rest.

"Oh, Gaara-kun! Of course you're important! I don't hate you! I've been afraid of you, and I guess I still am, but I don't hate you! You are _important_ to me so don't let him win! Don't sleep!" she told him, shaking him roughly and clutching him tight by turns.

"Where am I? When am I?" he asked, knowing the answers would tell him nothing real but needing to ask anyway.

"You're here! In Konoha! You're now and I love you!" She yelled, pushing him back to look him in the eyes that widened in shock at those words. Somehow hearing he was here and now comforted him, but alone they would have been only scraps of comfort, like sheets in the arctic. But...

"Love? You love me, Temari?" he asked in a quiet, shy voice and for a moment Temari could swear he was six again and striving for acceptance.

"Yeah... Yeah, I do. I really do, Gaara-kun. Can you fight him now?" she asked, her own eyes brimming with tears by now.

Gaara nodded. Those words had steeled him, he'd shut Shukaku away again, for the time. There'd be another battle yet, perhaps for the rest of his life, but for now he was safe, and so was his sister. "Domo arigatou gozaimasu..." he said, releasing her arm and hugging her gently, savoring the warmth of another human being's presence. It was so unusual to touch someone else, to be in contact with anyone without the medium of sand. Gaara sighed gratefully - it was so nice though. Gentle touches were foreign but felt right, and more instinctive than Gaara had ever imagined they could feel. Temari hugged him back and for a long time they just stood there, a real brother and sister for the first time in their lives.

"It was nothing... I'm just glad... I'm glad your all right," Temari finally murmured. "Come on. Let's go eat. Anything you want."

"Okay..." Maybe he was damned, but maybe he had more blessings than he'd thought. So many people had saved him from so much lately. Naruto, and Lee, and now Temari... they kept saving him from himself, and from Shukaku. Maybe he was damned, but maybe he'd overlooked his blessings...


	6. Naruto's Back! EroSennin's Seal

Temari had been frightened, but now that it was over, she felt so relieved, so light and happy. She thought something very important had just happened, and that things with Gaara would be even easier now. So the scare was worth it - to be able to tell Gaara she loved him and for him to accept it, it was worth it. And Gaara seemed glad too. Her arm hurt like a bitch, but she didn't really care. Besides, she knew Gaara had been hurting so much more, and she thought some of the pain probably left him now. That pain would fade soon enough, especially after she got a chance to lay a healing on herself. It was such a small price to know Gaara wasn't being torn apart anymore. She knew it wasn't over, but it felt like such a huge step!

Gaara noticed the bruising on her arm and winced, looking down in shame. "Temari... I hurt you... Gomen nasai."

Temari put a hand on his and shook her head. "Don't wory about it. I've been hurt worse. The important thing is that you feel better now, and that we're really family now." She grinned brightly.

Gaara looked up and his eyes brightened. "Yeah. We're real family now, not just people with similar blood..." he said. A thought struck him, though, that took some of his happiness away. "Temari... are you still afraid of me?" he looked away, afraid of the answer.

Temari looked nervous, and her hand fidgeted over Gaara's. She couldn't, wouldn't, lie to him because if he realized the truth it would only make things worse. She just had to be very careful. "Not most of the time, these days. Just, now and then... But it's okay. I'm working against that and you're changing so much, so fast. You just have to give me time to get used to it. Kankurou too," she added as an after thought. "Old habits die hard, you know," she said, trying to bring back a little cheer.

Gaara smiled grimly - he could manage smiles when they weren't truly happy, after all. He just didn't know which muscles to use when he was happy yet. The rest he knew. "Yeah. Yeah, they do," he replied sadly.

Temari looked apalled and sorry, "Oh my gosh, Gaara-kun, I'm so sorry! I didn't think about it! I know you've been getting rid of your old habits though, and you've been working so hard!" She rubbed his hand and bowed her head. "I'll try harder, Gaara-kun! I'll make you as proud of me as I am of you!" she said.

"Proud?" Gaara asked, his eyes widening yet again. Temari was full of surprising revelations today.

"Of course I'm proud of you, silly! Look at how much you've changed, the control you've gotten, so quick! Now eat!" she said, laughing and beaming. Gaara's eyes were so bright they could have lit the darkest part of Konoha's forest in a new moon. He ate happily.

"Temari, would you just talk to me? About anything you want. Just talk and let me listen?" he asked her between bites. He didn't want to eat in silence anymore. It would be the same as eating alone.

"Okay, but you better not regret it later!" she joked before she began talking about some of the other Konoha girls her age she'd met and a couple of cute guys too. Gaara enjoyed listening to her talk, even though he wasn't really interested in the topic and she was mostly rambling. It was nice knowing that Temari was willing to talk to him at all, especially about something like this. He felt warm. He liked that feeling. _Is that what family is? What love is? I like this, whatever it is.

* * *

_

Gaara found Lee very easily, and the first thing Lee said to him, rather than the usual, "Konnichi wa, Gaara-kun!" was "Naruto's back!" Over the past few weeks, Gaara had explained briefly to Lee why he was there and why he was trying to change himself. So, when Lee found out Naruto was back, he'd been waiting eagerly for Gaara to show up so he could tell the Suna-nin of Naruto's arrival.

That was welcome news- Gaara was glad to here something positive after Kankurou and Temari fighting. "Where is he?" Gaara asked. Lee had finally gotten used to the fact that Gaara, for whatever reason, wasn't big on greetings. Regardless, he could tell (already!) that Gaara was glad to see him and hear that Naruto was finally back.

"He's at the hospital right now, I think. I have to stay and train some more, but you can go on down and see him!" Lee said, grinning and giving a thumbs up, a pose that would soon become very familiar to Gaara.

"Domo, Lee-kun. I'll see you again later…" About to leave, Gaara turned. "You can't skip this one time? Naruto and I were not on the best of terms; last we met…" he stated, looking vaguely unsure of himself.

Lee scratched his head. He did train a lot, but he didn't really want to break habit or skip out on a session…But Gaara was right, and Lee did want the Suna-nin to do well in Konoha… After all, he considered Gaara a friend. In the end, friendship won out even over the training for his dream – he'd make up for lost time throughout the week. "Well, I told him about you helping me when I fought Kimimaro, but I suppose I can come anyway, just in case…" he shrugged.

"Ja ne, Neji, Tenten! I'm going with Gaara to visit Naruto. I'll be back later!" Lee called to his teammates.

"uh- Ja ne, Lee-kun!" Tenten said. Both she and Neji were surprised – Lee never took off, and usually couldn't be **kept** from training. Still, he was a sweetheart, and he was helping out the new kid, so… Although they were still a bit surprised that he'd befriended **Gaara**, but that was Lee for you… The two shrugged, finished their break, and went back to training.

* * *

Lee and Gaara fell into their usual pattern of Gaara listening with the occasional comment and Lee babbling on about training, Gai-sensei, his dream or whatever he happened to be thinking about at the time. This time, he was going over the news of Naruto and co.'s adventures in Rice country. He had the basic idea right, though rumor, of course, had distorted some details to make the tale yet more harrowing.

Gaara was actually a little worried. He knew Naruto would be alive, since he had the Kyuubi, but he was apprehensive about what state he would find Naruto in when they got to the hospital.

Naruto was much better off than Gaara'd expected, to both his relief and dismay. When Gaara entered, Naruto had jumped up defensively. Yeah, he **had** been told that Gaara and the suna-nin had helped Konoha later, but he had kind of forgotten… And Gaara was still creepy, even though Naruto knew that, when it came down to it, he could hold his own.

Lee had jumped in around Gaara and waved his hands frantically. "Naruto! Oi, we came to visit you!" He said. Naruto looked surprised and then grinned. Well, if Lee was hanging out with Gaara, it was probably cool.

"Ummm, kay… Konnichi wa, Fuzzy-eyebrows! No-eyebrows!" he greeted, plopping back down onto the bed. "Oi, oi, did you bring me food, 'ttebayou? Like, maybe, ramen, dattebayou?" he asked, adapting a conspirator's mien.

Lee laughed. "No, no ramen, but we can go get some, if we can sneak out!" he said, smiling.

Naruto nodded. "I haven't eaten at Ichiraku in-"

"Gaara! There you are!" A voice called, and a moment later Temari showed up in the doorframe. Gaara actually seemed mildly surprised, though this was not an unusual occurrence since moving to Konoha.

By now, Lee had gotten used to Temari suddenly popping up around Gaara, but Naruto was confused. "Oi, Lee," he whispered, tugging Lee over to him. "Anou sa, where did that pretty girl come from, and why is she anxious about Gaara, dattebayou?" He seemed to forget a moment ago he'd been a little 'anxious' as well…

Lee muttered back, "That's his older sister, Temari. Recognize her from the chuunin exams?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "Oh yeah! She had the fan! And she fought Shikamaru!" He nodded confidently. "She's okay now, too?" Lee nodded.

"Gaara, I couldn't find you and Lee and Lee's team mates said you'd gone with Lee here to see Naruto, so I thought I'd…" Temari noticed Naruto and Lee watching her and Gaara intently. "Oh, Konnichi wa, Lee. You're Naruto, right?" she asked, pointing.

Naruto felt warm and nodded, grinning. "Yup! Uzumaki Naruto, the next Hokage!" he said, giving a thumbs up as though to confirm his words. He must have picked up the habit from Lee…

Temari nodded. "Nice to finally meet you under peaceful circumstances. Arigatou, Naruto. Temari, of the Sand village, if you forgot," she said, smiling softly.

Naruto laughed. "No way! I never forget a pretty girl's name!"

_But… I just reminded you, Naruto-kun…_ Lee thought. Oh well, it was such a Naruto thing to do. Lee didn't really care.

Temari wasn't exactly sure how to take that. "Right then… domo…"

"Oi, Temari," Gaara said, speaking for the first time since he'd entered Naruto's room.

"Hai?" Temari asked, turning her attention back to her little brother.

"I hadn't even said hello yet and you've already thanked him for me…" he sort-of grumbled. Grumbled as much as Gaara ever did…

Temari turned red. "Oh… Oh, Gomen nasai, Gaara. My bad," she said, looking a touch worried now. Gaara **probably** wouldn't go ballistic like he used to, but the comment troubled her. Was he angry?

"Oi, oi, oi, oi, oi! Can we talk over a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku! I wanna' go, dattebayou!" Naruto said, unsure of what was going on between Gaara and his pretty sister, but not particularly interested so far as it didn't affect him.

"Yeah, let's go!" Lee said, triumphantly leading the way.

Despite having waited a while to talk to Naruto, Gaara found he couldn't talk, at least, not around the others. That wasn't necessarily so much due to their presence as he'd never get a word in edgewise between Lee, Naruto, and Temari. He would have to contrive away to talk to Naruto alone, now that he knew Naruto would be willing to trust him, at least, to an extent. As usual, he remained quiet while he listened in, now and then trying to say something but generally giving up – with just Lee he could talk but with the three of them… it's not like he had anything that interesting to add usually anyhow.

However, the waiting didn't sit well with Gaara. As he'd told Naruto and Shikamaru before when he'd almost killed Lee in the hospital, he'd been spoiled, and when people came to fear him, they gave in very quickly to his demands. He was not used to waiting for anything he wanted. "Naruto," he said abruptly, pushing his bowel away. No one seemed to hear him. That was irritating. He forced himself not to get angry and said, louder, "Naruto!"

"Ah-, hai, Gaara-kun? Nani?" Naruto asked, leaning forward to look around Lee and see Gaara. He looked vaguely perplexed by being addressed all of a sudden and he seemed to have been caught half way between getting the ramen to his mouth and swallowing it, resulting in several noodles hanging from his chopsticks into his mouth. Had Gaara any perception of 'cute', he might have called Naruto that at that point, but such things Gaara knew little, if anything, about.

"May I talk to you?" Gaara asked. Temari appeared a little perplexed – what did Gaara want? His eyes looked cool like before and his voice was blank. Temari couldn't help but wonder, worry. She pushed it away. Gaara was good now; he was learning to control Shukaku better and not be a murderous psychopath. He was her brother, and they were real family now – she should trust him.

Naruto swallowed and nodded. He shoved the last of the ramen into his mouth and got up, pushing his chair in roughly. "Sure, but I want to go back to my apartment for a while, so can we walk and talk?" he asked.

Gaara also nodded and stood, falling in step with Naruto. Temari pushed his chair in for him. Lee waved with his chopsticks. "I need to go back and train, dewa!"

"Can I join you, Lee?" Temari asked. She wanted to try and find some partners to train with, although she wasn't sure Lee's team would be very good opponents for her.

"Sure, Temari-chan!" Lee said, leading the way.

Naruto waved. "Ja ne you guys, dattebayou!" he yelled, grinning and shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, what's up, Gaara?" he asked, glancing at the sand-boy. He seemed… stable. Or stable enough. Naruto wondered what Gaara could want. It was really weird just walking with him – Like Lee, Naruto was too easy-going to carry a grudge long but he still couldn't help be a little on his guard, and a lot curious.

Gaara was quiet a few moments, his attention more on the ground a few meters ahead than anything else. It was hard for him to find the words. "Naruto… I need to thank you…" He was quiet several moments.

"You mean, for what? Kicking your ass at the chuunin exams, dattebayou?" Naruto asked. He seemed rather surprised.

Gaara turned an interesting, uncertain color. "No, for talking to me… for understanding. No one else has ever understood, or even tried to. I've… I've been trying to understand what you taught me, about important people. That's why I came here, to learn."

Naruto scratched his head. "Oh. Well, I'm glad you've changed! I was wondering why you weren't… y'know… trying to kill me and Lee…dattebayou…" He grinned off-handedly.

Gaara nodded. "… Right. I had hoped…" Gaara was unsure what to ask first, now that he had found Naruto again. "Your monster – How do you stay so… cheerful? Carefree? Doesn't it bother you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What, the Kyuubi? He's sealed up; he can't bother me. My friends help me feel cheerful and all, dattebayou. 'Course, I wasn't happy for a long time because I was alone like you've been, but then Iruka and I became friends, and then I made friends when I was assigned to team seven, so I've been a lot happier than I used to be." Naruto grinned. He had some great friends – although Sasuke's defection had been quite a blow. He sobered again.

"You mean… He doesn't talk to you? Can you sleep normally? You don't look like an insomniac…" Gaara pointed idly.

"Well, sometimes, but only when I come to him. And yeah, I can sleep normally! Can't yo-, oh, no, I guess not…" Naruto recalled. He'd forgotten what Gamabunta had said about the tanuki.

Gaara shoved his hands in his pockets. He was beginning to wonder if Naruto was simply luckier than he was. He glanced up momentarily. "You live in those apartments?" he asked, pointing. Naruto nodded, grinning. "Me too."

"Really? That's weird…" Naruto seemed to ponder this a moment. "Oi, oi, Gaara, I just had an idea!" Naruto said out of the blue.

Gaara gave Naruto his attention. "Well, Granny-Tsunade is a healer – maybe she can… I don't know; fix you! So you can sleep and stuff! Come on, let's go!" Naruto grabbed Gaara's hand and dragged him towards the Hokage's tower. Gaara fell in step after a moment of surprise. Naruto didn't notice the suna-nin's flinch at the unexpected contact. Naruto's hand was rough and warm. Gaara didn't mind.

They met up with Tsunade-sama on the way. She'd been shopping. "Oi, oi, Granny-Tsunade!" Tsunade sighed – that could only be Naruto or one of his Academy posse.

"Oi, Konnichi wa, Naruto-kun. What is it this time?" she asked, confirming at a glance who it was.

"Granny, can you help Gaara-kun? He can't sleep because of the tanuki sealed in him and he generally could use a little help and apparently the tanuki causes him a lot of trouble and-"

"Woah, slow down, Naruto-kun." Tsunade threw up her hands to back her words, and spoke calmly. "Healing is not necessary here, sealing is, and Jiraiya is better at that than I am. Or at least, for the kind of seal needed here…" she said. "By the way, Konnichi wa, Gaara-kun," she added, smiling warmly at the suna-nin. Gaara nodded and waved a little.

Naruto looked surprised. "Ero-sennin? Really?"

"Hai, and you know you really shouldn't call him that… And you shouldn't call me Granny!" she said, thwacking him on the head. He winced and clutched his head where a bruise was rapidly forming. "**AND** you should also know he would be the one to ask about this. After all, he taught Yondaime, and Yondaime sealed your Kyuubi," Tsunade explained dryly.

Naruto nodded. "Oh yeah, that makes sense. Okay, let's go find him to help Gaara!" Naruto said and a moment later he'd dragged Gaara off again. Gaara followed, still confused but not knowing of anything better to do. Besides, if this could help him sleep…

Tsunade-sama shook her head. "He has too much energy… But it's just as well he helps that boy, Gaara. I'm not sure how good a teacher he'll be, but maybe Gaara can learn by example."

* * *

Ero-sennin was very easy to find – he was at his perch in the woods where he watched girls in swimsuits play at the waterfall. "Hehe, research!" Naruto heard him cackle.

He groaned, "Oi! Ero-sennin! I need your help."

Jiraiya waved his hand at Naruto, gesturing 'go away'. "I'm collecting data."

Naruto sighed. Did he **always** have to do this to get Ero-sennin to pay attention to him? He formed the seals for sexy no jutsu, to Gaara's great surprise. "Ero-sennin, please help me…" Naruto purred, resting soft, feminine hands on Jiraiya's shoulders. "Dozo…" he added, pressing his breasts against Jiraiya's back.

Ero-sennin turned red and turned around. "Okay, you have my attention!" he said. A moment later Naruto poofed back. Jiraiya groaned. "You always do that to me! No fun!" he growled.

"You always make me use my Sexy no jutsu to get your attention!" he growled. The two engaged in a brief glaring contest and then Naruto sighed. "Anyhow, I need you to help Gaara-kun."

Jiraiya finally noticed the sand-nin. "Oh, you're the trouble-maker from the chuunin exams, aren't you?"

Gaara looked away. He didn't understand all of the talk and emotion passing between these two, but that was clear enough. He nodded once. "Yeah, he's the one but he's okay now, or I think so, anyhow. Anyhow, the demon in him won't let him sleep, and I thought Tsunade could help, but she said to ask you to lay a seal on him." Naruto nodded confidently. "See, I thought it was just a healing issue but she says it's about the seal."

Jiraiya nodded slowly. "That stands to reason. I should be able to seal the demon up so he won't bother you, Gaara."

Gaara's eyes brightened, and he had hope. To have the Shukaku locked up so he wouldn't fight his control anymore, to be able to rest and get a grip on reality… "Could you?" he asked hesitantly.

Jiraiya's nod was more confident now. "I believe so! Can you show me the seal originally used to lock the demon up?" he asked.

Gaara's eyebrows (or lack there of) knit. "Show you?" he asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, don't you have a seal mark? See," he lifted his shirt and jacket to show the seal that was usually visible at his stomach, "Here's mine."

Gaara thought. "I… don't think I have one of those…" Naruto was, again, surprised.

Jiraiya thought a moment. "Well that's odd…" _What a crude technique…_ He thought.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Shirt off!" Jiraiya demanded.

_What…?_ Gaara looked at Naruto. Naruto shrugged. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Jiraiya asked, crossing his arms.

Reluctantly, Gaara unbuttoned the mandarin-style brown shirt he wore, and slid it off. It would be worth it if Jiraiya really could seal up Shukaku. "You're really, really pale… How do you get so pale living in the desert?" Naruto asked.

"I never thought about it," Gaara said honestly. That was a good question… even assuming he didn't grow tan because he was out so little in the day, he should have darker skin by virtue of his heritage…

Jiraiya seemed to be collecting chakra in his hands. Gaara had only a moment to wonder though, for in the next moment Jiraiya had thrust his fingertips against Gaara's stomach, around his navel. Gaara groaned, his hands snapping to wrestle with Jiraiya's – it hurt! But – but he could _feel_ it working to seal up Shukaku. He could see the Tanuki fighting, and the seal pushing him back. He dropped his hands forcefully, realizing it was Shukaku using him against himself. He would not be the Tanuki's puppet!

Naruto looked worried – Did Ero-sennin really know what he was doing? But at last he pulled away. Gaara winced, gasping.

"Sorry kid – If I'd warned you, you might have stopped me… But the seal's in place – The Tanuki's power is under your control now." Jiraiya grinned. "So, now that that's taken care of, what's your first order of business?" he asked.

Gaara rubbed at his stomach where a spiral mark similar to Naruto's now lay. After a moment, it seemed to fade away. "Sleep…." He muttered, already becoming irresistibly drowsy. He'd been able to use Shukaku's energy to fight back the sleepiness before, but now that the power no longer roamed freely in his body, the exhaustion of the years took its toll on him. He fell backwards.

"Ah!" Naruto yelped, jumping forward and catching him before he fell onto the ground. Gaara's eyes fluttered open once and then he was out. Naruto and Jiraiya looked at each other, surprised, and then laughed. "Oi, hand me his shirt, Ero-sennin… Eh, now what…?" he asked, looking perplexedly at Gaara.

Jiraiya gave him the shirt and shrugged. "I guess get him to his home and in a bed."

Naruto sighed. "I don't know where he lives yet, though…. I guess he can use my bed…" With that he turned and left, carrying Gaara carefully. When he got to his apartment he laid Gaara down gently and shifted the covers up, figuring the suna-nin would be used to being hot, and probably prefer it, and then he went to the kitchen to make some ramen.

Gaara seemed to sleep forever. Naruto had expected him to maybe nap for a few hours but by nightfall he figured Gaara hadn't really slept in years apparently, so maybe he was due… Sighing and standing at the bedside, he scratched his head and wondered what was best to be done. After a few moments, he shrugged, pushed Gaara to the side and clambered in next to him to go to sleep. After all, he really didn't want to shake the sand boy awake – he'd been deprived enough, and who knew what he'd do after waking up suddenly for the first time in ages…

However, when Naruto woke up the next morning around nine and Gaara was still there, sleeping peacefully, he decided it was really time to wake him up – otherwise he'd probably get sore and stiff anyway.

He yawned and made a couple of bowls of ramen for breakfast and then gently shook Gaara's shoulder. "Oi. Gaara-kun. Wake-up."

Gaara's eyes opened a notch. "Never…" he declared resolutely. And here he'd though sleep was over-rated all this time… It seemed he was wrong, which was actually heartening even as it was disconcerting. Sleep was the _best _thing he'd ever done…

"Come on, Gaara, wake up. You have to eat, and if you stay like that you'll get cramps and stuff…" he said, shaking Gaara a little harder. Gaara sighed and sat up slowly, blinking drowsily and wiping his eyes. "Here," Naruto said, offering him a bowl of ramen.

Gaara looked at it curiously a moment and then at Naruto. "… For breakfast?" he asked. That was an unusual first meal of the day.

Naruto grinned, "Yeah, why not, dattebayou!"

Gaara stared at it another few minutes and then ate with abandon, discovering after the first few bites that he was starving and could have eaten more. He put his bowl down when he finished, "Domo."

Naruto nodded. "No problem."


End file.
